Lubbock & the South Plains

Tree Cutting, Trimming and Stump Work in Lubbock, Texas

Dead elms, split limbs after a wind event, trees over the roof or the alley line, stumps left in the lawn. Free estimate, a straight answer on whether the tree can be saved, and one local company rather than a bidding war.

Almost every tree in Lubbock was planted by someone and has been watered by someone ever since. This is shortgrass prairie on the Llano Estacado, and a shade tree here lives on irrigation, takes wind that most of the country never sees, and shows it when the watering stops.

Call (806) 515-3071 Request an estimate

Answered Mon–Sat, 7am–6pm · storm calls after hours get a call back first thing

Free estimate · No obligation · Local Lubbock tree companies

A large mature shade tree standing over a house and lawn

March and April blow hardestThe spring wind season is when weak forks and dead limbs come down.

Year-round tradeRemoval and storm work run every month; pruning timing depends on the species.

Stumps are separateAsk whether grinding is in the price. On many estimates it is not.

What tree removal costs in Lubbock

Local companies generally quote somewhere around $250 to $700 for a small tree in open ground and $700 to $1,800 for a medium one. A mature tree over a house or a line, taken down in pieces, commonly runs $1,800 to $4,000 or more. Access and what is underneath matter more than height.

See what moves the number.

Get a number for your tree Call (806) 515-3071

What we help with

Removals of dead, leaning or unwanted trees, pruning and crown thinning, storm cleanup after wind, hail or ice, stump grinding, and a plain opinion on a tree that looks wrong. Call or send the details and a local tree company will come out, look at the tree and price it in writing.

Why Lubbock trees fail the way they do

Three things do most of the damage here, and none of them is the cold. The first is wind. Lubbock averages a little over 12 miles an hour across the year, among the windiest cities in the country, and March and April are the worst of it. A tree with a weak fork or a hollow limb gets tested every spring whether anyone is looking or not.

The second is water. Lubbock recorded 5.86 inches of rain in 2011, the driest year in its record, and some of the dead and half-dead trees being taken down now trace their decline back to that summer. On a two-day-a-week watering schedule, a big shade tree can decline for years before anyone notices the crown thinning.

The third is what got planted. Siberian elm, cottonwood, ash and silver maple went in all over the older parts of town because they grow fast. The city's own code no longer allows them as new street trees without approval. Many of the removals in central Lubbock are those trees reaching the end of a life that was always going to be short.

Removal is not always the answer

A tree that drops a limb is not necessarily a tree that has to come down. Sometimes the right job is removing deadwood and reducing a heavy limb over the roof; sometimes it is a removal that should have happened two springs ago. A good estimate tells you which, and says why. If the honest answer is "prune it and look again next year", that is the answer you should get.

Tree work we can line up

Where we work in Lubbock

OvertonCentral, north of Texas Techplatted in 1907 by a developer who promoted street trees from the start, so some of the oldest neighbourhood trees in the city stand here, many of them leaning over alleys, brick streets and older overhead service lines
Tech TerraceCentral, south of Texas Tech1920s to 1950s houses under a mature canopy around Wagner Park; big trees on small lots, so most removals here are climbed and lowered in pieces rather than felled
Heart of LubbockCentralmid-century houses on tree-lined streets, old enough that many of the big trees are species the city no longer allows as new street plantings
LakeridgeSouthwestbuilt mostly in the 1980s and 1990s around the LakeRidge Country Club, so the trees are now 30 to 40 years old and reaching the size where pruning and clearance from roofs becomes a regular job
Vintage TownshipFar south, Quaker to Utica below 114tha 320-acre subdivision begun in 2007 with narrow tree-lined streets; young trees whose structural pruning now decides how they handle wind in twenty years
North and East Lubbock79403 and 79415older lots with more open ground, and plenty of self-seeded Siberian elm along fences and alleys, which is where a lot of fence-line removal work comes from

ZIP codes served79401 · 79403 · 79404 · 79407 · 79410 · 79411 · 79412 · 79413 · 79414 · 79415 · 79416 · 79423 · 79424

Beyond Lubbock

We also cover Wolfforth, Slaton, Levelland and Brownfield.

Guides

Common questions

What does it cost to use you?

Nothing. There is no charge for the referral and no obligation after the estimate. You pay the tree company that does the job, directly, at whatever price you agree with them.

How much does it cost to take a tree down in Lubbock?

Broadly $250 to $700 for a small tree with clear access, $700 to $1,800 for a medium one, and $1,800 to $4,000 or more for a big tree that has to be climbed and lowered over a roof, fence or power line. Stump grinding is usually priced separately. The cost guide explains what moves a job between those numbers.

Do I need a city permit to remove a tree in my yard?

For a tree on private residential property in Lubbock we have not found a city permit requirement. Trees in the parkway, the strip between sidewalk and street, come under the Parks and Recreation director, so ask the city before touching one of those. HOA rules in newer subdivisions can add their own requirement. The permit guide has the detail.

A limb is on my roof or across the alley. How fast can someone come?

Call rather than filling in the form. Storm calls go to the front of the queue and a limb on a roof is often looked at within a day, though after a big wind event every tree company in town is booked solid. If anything is touching a power line, stay clear and call the electric utility first; no tree company should touch it until the line is made safe.

Do you cover my area?

All of Lubbock, plus Wolfforth, Slaton, Levelland and Brownfield. If you are somewhere in between, give the address when you call rather than guessing.

Are you a tree company?

No, and you should know that up front. We are an advertising and referral service. When you call or send an estimate request we put you in touch with an independent local tree company that serves your area. We do not do the work, we do not hold insurance for it, and we do not take a cut of what you pay.

Get a tree removal estimate

Tell us about the tree and a local tree company will come and look at it, usually within a few days, sooner for a limb on a roof. Answered Mon–Sat, 7am–6pm · storm calls after hours get a call back first thing Or call (806) 515-3071. If a limb is on a roof or a line, call rather than typing.