The Best Low-Maintenance Native Trees for North Texas Yards
Nobody wants a tree that demands a second job. These native Texas trees handle black clay, August heat, and ice storms with minimal work.
Read articleTree Care Blog
Practical advice for North Texas homeowners. Pruning timing, oak wilt, storm prep, and honest guidance on removal vs. trimming. New articles every week.
Diagnosing a Sick Tree in North Texas: A Step-by-Step Guide
Your tree looks sick. Here is how to read the signs the way a tree guy reads them: crown first, then leaves, then trunk, then base.
Read articleVines Are Taking Over Your Tree: How to Remove Them Safely
English ivy, poison ivy, and mustang grape smother trees across North Texas. Cut them, don't pull them. Know what you're cutting before you start.
Read articleCottonwood Trees in North Texas: Fast Shade, Big Tradeoffs
The fastest shade in North Texas, and the messiest tree in the yard. Where cottonwoods belong, how to live with one, and when it is time to take it down.
Read articleStorm Season Is Coming: How to Prep Your Trees Before the Next Big Wind
An October walkthrough for Collin County yards: prune the weak stuff, read the base, and be honest about the trees that have run out of time.
Read articleTrimming Junipers and Ashe Junipers in Texas: What to Know
Junipers cannot grow back from bare wood. When to trim Texas junipers, how to thin instead of shear, and the old-wood rule that decides every cut.
Elm Tree Care in North Texas: Cedar, Lacebark, and American
Cedar elm, lacebark elm, and American elm each need different care in North Texas. How to tell them apart, prune them, and spot Dutch elm disease.
Growing Fruit Trees in North Texas: What Actually Works
Which fruit trees thrive in North Texas clay? Figs, persimmons, jujubes, peaches, pears and plums: what works, what needs work, and when to plant.
5 Signs Your Tree Needs a Professional Trim (Not Just a Haircut)
Dead limbs, rubbing branches, low clearance, storm damage: five clear signs your North Texas tree needs a professional trim, and why timing matters.
Girdling Roots: The Hidden Killer Strangling Your Tree
Girdling roots slowly strangle trees at the trunk base. Learn how to spot the missing root flare, expose it safely, and cut circling roots before the tree fails.
The Best Shade Trees to Plant in North Texas This Fall
October is prime planting season in North Texas. The best shade trees for our clay: live oak, Shumard oak, bur oak, cedar elm, lacebark elm, and which trees to skip.
Should You Fertilize Trees in Fall? A North Texas Guide
Fall fertilizer helps some North Texas trees and hurts others. Which trees need feeding, when to apply it, and why a soil test beats guessing.
Fall Webworms in Texas: Should You Worry About Those Silky Webs?
Silky white webs on your trees this October? Fall webworms in Texas, explained: what they are, the damage they do, and the simple fixes that actually work.
Building Near Trees? How to Protect Them During Construction
Construction is the leading preventable killer of mature trees. How to protect trees during home construction: critical root zones, fencing, grade changes.
Do Texas Trees Need Water in Winter? A Winter Watering Guide
Texas winters can be dry, and your trees still need water. How to winter-water new plantings, evergreens, and established trees, and when to stop.
Fall Tree Care Checklist for North Texas: What to Do in October & November
October is the best month to work on your trees. Fall planting, the dormant pruning window, bagworm hand-picking, mulch, watering, and storm prep.
Bagworms on Texas Evergreens: How to Spot, Control, and Stop Them
Tiny pinecone-like bags on your juniper? Bagworms. When to hand-pick, when to spray Bt, and why a fully stripped evergreen won't come back.
Should You Use Wound Dressing on Pruning Cuts? What Texas Trees Need
Pruning paint on tree wounds: when it helps, when it hurts, and the one Texas exception where painting every cut is non-negotiable.
Chinese Pistache Care: The Fall-Color Tree That Thrives in North Texas
The fall-color tree that actually delivers in North Texas. Planting it right, male vs female, verticillium wilt, and the pruning that keeps it strong.
How a Tree Risk Assessment Works (and When You Need One)
A risk assessment is not a guess. How the process works, what the inspector looks for from root flare to canopy, and when to get one before the next storm.
Lightning-Struck Trees in Texas: Signs, Survival & What to Do
A lightning strike doesn't always kill a tree. How to tell lightning damage from wind damage, what actually helps it recover, and when to remove it.
What to Plant Under Your North Texas Trees (and What to Avoid)
The bare patch under your tree is shade, roots, and Texas heat doing what they do. What actually grows under North Texas trees, and what to leave alone.
Tree Suckers and Water Sprouts: What They Mean and What to Do
Skinny shoots from the base and twiggy whips from the trunk are the tree telling you something. What suckers and water sprouts mean, and how to handle them.
Why Trees Lean: When It's Normal and When to Worry
Half the leaning trees on your street are fine. Here is how to tell whether yours is one of them, and what a new lean after a storm means.
Crape Myrtle Bark Scale: Identification and Treatment
White crust on the bark, black sooty mold underneath. The Texas-born pest on every crape myrtle, and the treatment program that actually beats it.
Caring for Texas Redbuds in Your North Texas Landscape
The toughest small tree for North Texas yards, and the planting mistakes that kill it. How to plant in clay, water it right, and prune it almost never.
Mesquite Trees in North Texas: Pros, Cons, and Care
Mesquite trees grow everywhere in North Texas. Why they thrive here, the thorns and roots to watch for, and how to keep a backyard mesquite safe and healthy.
How to Protect Your Trees Before a Texas Ice Storm
Ice storms break Texas trees every winter. What to prune in fall, which trees are most at risk, and what to do during and after the ice.
Hypoxylon Canker in Texas Oaks: What the Black Bark Means
Bark falling off your oak in sheets, with black underneath. How to tell hypoxylon canker from oak wilt, why drought is the trigger, and what you can actually do.
Hackberry Trees in North Texas: The Tough Native You Already Have
Hackberries are the most common tree in DFW yards, and most homeowners can't tell one from an elm. How to identify yours, what the bumpy leaves mean, and when a hackberry is actually a problem.
Emerald Ash Borer in North Texas: Signs, Treatment & What to Do
The borer is confirmed in Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant counties. How to tell if your tree is an ash, the signs of infestation, and what treatment can and can't do.
Do North Texas HOAs Control Tree Removal? What Homeowners Need to Know
Your city says the tree can come down. Your HOA says not so fast. How the two gatekeepers work in North Texas, and how to get your approval through cleanly.
Do You Need a Permit to Remove a Tree in Texas?
Texas has no state tree-removal law. Your city makes the rules. How Plano, Frisco, and McKinney handle protected trees, HOA approvals, dead-tree exemptions, and the five-minute check that keeps you out of trouble.
Live Oaks vs. Red Oaks in North Texas: Care Differences
Both oaks grow everywhere up here, but they behave like different animals. How to tell yours apart, why oak wilt treats them so differently, the shared February-to-June pruning rule, and what each one actually needs.
Is Your Tree Dead or Just Dormant? How to Tell
A bare tree in winter might be sleeping or finished. The scratch test, the bend test, and the timing tricks that tell you which one you are looking at, before you pay for a removal you do not need.
How to Prepare Your Yard Before the Tree Crew Arrives
Booked tree work? Move the cars, flag the sprinklers, unlock the gates. The thirty minutes of prep that keeps the job smooth, safe, and done right the first time.
Trimming vs. Pruning: Is There a Difference?
Trimming and pruning are not quite the same thing. What each word usually means in tree work, why it matters when you hire someone, and what to actually ask for.
Mulch Volcanoes: Why Piling Mulch Against Trunks Kills Trees
That cone of mulch stacked against your tree trunk looks tidy and is slowly killing the tree. What mulch volcanoes do to bark and roots, and what proper mulching looks like in North Texas.
Pecan Tree Care for North Texas Yards
Pecan is the Texas state tree and half the yards in North Texas have one. Zinc deficiency, watering for nut fill, pruning young trees right, and the honest take on pests and storm damage.
Keeping Firewood From Your Removed Tree: What to Know
Yes, you can keep the wood from your removed tree. Which species burn well, how long seasoning takes in Texas, the oak wilt rule, and what to tell the crew before they start.
The Best Time to Plant Trees in North Texas
Fall is the best planting season in Texas: why October and November beat spring, which native trees handle clay soil, and how to get new trees through their first two summers.
Oak Wilt in Texas: Signs, Spread, and What to Do
The disease that kills Texas oaks: how to spot it on red oaks and live oaks, how beetles and root grafts spread it, and why you should never prune oaks February through June.
How to Prune Crape Myrtles (Without Committing Crape Murder)
North Texas timing, selective pruning cuts, and why the annual buzz-cut ruins the tree. Healthy crape myrtles bloom better when you do less, not more.
Tree Roots vs. Your Foundation and Driveway: What to Know
Can tree roots crack your foundation? The honest answer: it is the clay soil, not the root. Risky trees, safe planting distances, root barriers, and when removal is the fix.
How to Water Trees During a Texas Drought
Most drought-killed trees in North Texas die from the wrong watering, not from the heat. Deep, infrequent soaks: how much, how often, and where the water actually needs to go.
Cedar Elm Care Guide for Texas Homeowners
The toughest shade tree in North Texas still has needs: deep watering, winter structural pruning, mulch without the volcano, and the problems that actually show up.
How to Choose a Tree Service: 7 Red Flags to Avoid
Door-knockers after a storm, quotes without a visit, no written estimate, topping trees. How to spot a risky tree company before a branch falls.
Why Bradford Pears Fail in North Texas (and What to Plant Instead)
The subdivision tree of the 2000s is splitting apart across North Texas. Why it's built to break, what to do with the one in your yard, and stronger flowering trees to plant instead.
Your Tree Was Damaged in a Storm. Now What?
The wind came through and your tree looks rough. Safety first, photos before anything moves, and the honest call on save vs. remove. A step-by-step for the morning after.
Post Oak Care in Collin County Clay Soil
The toughest tree on the Blackland Prairie is also the easiest to kill by accident. Watering, mulching, pruning timing, and what actually kills post oaks.
What Affects the Cost of Tree Removal?
No honest company quotes a price without seeing the tree. Here is what actually moves the number: size, species, access, HOAs, and timing.
Stump Grinding vs. Stump Removal: What's the Difference?
Grinding chews the stump down below grade. Removal digs the whole root ball out. Which one your situation actually calls for, and what drives the cost.
Why Topping Your Trees Hurts Them (and What to Do Instead)
Cutting a tree back to stubs looks like a quick fix for a tree that's too big. It is actually one of the most damaging things you can do to it. Here is what to do instead.
When to Trim Oak Trees in North Texas
The best time to prune oaks in North Texas is late fall through winter. And why February through June cuts risk spreading oak wilt.
7 Signs Your Tree Needs to Come Down (and 3 Signs It Doesn't)
Dead, damaged, or just ugly? How to tell whether your tree needs removal, or just pruning and patience.
How to Prepare Your Trees for Texas Storm Season
Five things to do in fall and winter so your trees survive North Texas spring storms, and what to do after one hits.