Tree service in Spring Hill, under some of the tallest pines in the city
Spring Hill's wooded lots, old estates and the college campus grew up under pines and live oaks that are now 80 feet tall. Most of our calls here are about which pines to take down before the season, and which oaks to keep.
Spring Hill is Mobile's oldest suburb, the high ground west of Midtown where families built summer houses in the 1800s to get above the yellow fever on the river, and it still has the character: deep lots, winding streets, Spring Hill College's campus, and a canopy of live oaks, magnolias and very tall pines. The lots are big enough that a tree can usually be felled or roped down without a crane, and old enough that the pines have been standing alone since the woods around them were cleared for houses. That is the Spring Hill problem. The University of Florida's hurricane research explains it: tall, slender pines that grew up in a stand relied on each other for support, and once they stand alone over a house they face wind they were never braced for.
So Spring Hill is where we do the most hurricane prep. The arborist walks the lot in late winter, grades every tree near the house, and the crew takes the leaning and beetle-stressed pines down, thins the oaks and pecans at the edges, and cables the live oaks worth keeping. Spring Hill lots are mostly outside the historic districts and developed, so most trees here need no City permit; the exceptions are right-of-way trees along the streets and anything on an undeveloped lot where a live oak of 18 inches or more is protected. After a storm, the long driveways and the big houses mean crane work: a pine across a roof in Spring Hill is usually a crane job.
What we do in Spring Hill
Hurricane prep
Tree-by-tree grading in late winter, pines that won't stand removed, oaks thinned, forks cabled.
Pine removal
Lone, leaning and beetle-killed pines taken down before June 1, felled whole where there's room.
Live oak care
Deadwood, clearance and reduction cuts on the estate oaks, with the moss and fern left alone.
Crane work
Pines over big houses lifted out in sections from the driveway.
Storm response
Trees on roofs and across the long driveways cleared by priority after a hurricane.
Permits checked
Mostly not needed on developed Spring Hill lots; right-of-way trees and undeveloped-lot live oaks are the exceptions.
Streets and areas we cover
- Old Shell Road
- Spring Hill Avenue
- McGregor Avenue
- Spring Hill College
- Dauphin Street west
- Museum Drive
- Country Club area
- Mobile Country Club
- Lloyds Lane
- Bit and Spur Road
- Llanfair
- Hillwood
Tree services in Spring Hill
- Tree removal, pine removal, crane removal, land clearing
- Live oak pruning, trimming and pruning, palm trimming, tree health
- 24/7 emergency service, hurricane cleanup, hurricane prep, stump grinding, replacement planting
Questions from Spring Hill homeowners
How do I know which pines are dangerous?
Look for a lean with mounded soil on the back side, a crown fading from green to yellow or red, pitch tubes on the bark, and above all a tall pine standing alone where a stand used to be. Our arborist grades each one in a prep visit.
Do I need a permit to remove a pine in Spring Hill?
On a developed lot off the right-of-way, no. A pine on the street side of the sidewalk is a City tree and needs a Tree Commission permit. Longleaf pines of 18 inches or more are Heritage Trees on undeveloped and commercial lots.
Can you take several pines down in one visit?
Yes, and it's cheaper per tree. Setup, chipping and haul-off are shared across the job; we discount 10 to 20 percent per tree on multi-tree days.
What does hurricane prep cost on a Spring Hill lot?
A typical lot with half a dozen trees near the house runs $1,500 to $5,000 for the pruning and cabling, plus $800 to $2,500 for each pine that needs to come out. We put it in writing by tree.
Nearby: Midtown · West Mobile · Tillmans Corner · Semmes · full service area