Tree Service in Point Clear, AL

Tree Service in Point Clear is mostly about big trees near valuable homes, right on the water. Families from Mobile, New Orleans and beyond have summered in Point Clear since the 1800s; they believed the daily breeze off Mobile Bay meant good air during yellow fever outbreaks. Visitors came by ferry to Zundel's Wharf. Today the community is an unincorporated census-designated place of 2,076 people, with homes facing the bay and a boardwalk running between the houses and the water. The breeze is still the defining feature, and it shapes how trees here grow and fail.

Wind from the open water

On the bay front, trees take wind off a long stretch of open water with nothing to slow it. Over the years that wind builds trees that lean away from the bay and grow heavy on the land side. In a hurricane, the stress comes from a different direction and in bursts. Our pruning goals here are specific:

• Remove deadwood and broken stubs before storm season
• Shorten over-long limbs that hang toward the house
• Clear dense, crossing growth while keeping the crown's overall shape
• Leave the windward side's foliage that shields the rest of the crown

We do not top trees or lion-tail them (stripping the inside of each limb). ANSI A300 pruning standards treat both as harmful, and both make trees more likely to fail in wind.

Low ground and salt

Point Clear sits at about 20 feet above sea level. Storm surge and wind-driven salt spray reach bay-front yards in a strong storm. Salt-tolerant species such as live oak, cabbage palm, yaupon and southern red cedar handle those conditions better than most ornamentals or water oaks. After a surge, roots soaked in salt water may decline over the following months, so we usually wait a season before judging a tree that looks stressed but is still standing.

Working near fine homes

Many Point Clear properties have old houses, docks, piers, boathouses and landscaped gardens within reach of the trees. Removing a tree there is precision work. We rig limbs down on ropes, protect lawns and walkways with ground cover where needed, and plan where each piece lands before the first cut. We also plan truck access ahead of time so nothing is parked on soft lawn or blocks a neighbor's drive.

Local rules and utilities

Point Clear is in unincorporated Baldwin County, south of Fairhope. Fairhope's tree ordinance covers properties inside the city's zoning districts, so check your parcel's jurisdiction before assuming a city rule applies. Subdivisions with covenants may have their own rules on tree removal. For trees on power lines, call the utility on your bill. Then call us at (251) 355-2051 or use the form. Get a free estimate