Contents (Click To Jump)
- 1 What Are the Most Common Tree Issues in Gallatin?
- 2 Does the City of Gallatin Provide Any Assistance in Tree Removal Problems?
- 3 Who Is Responsible for Fallen Tree Removal in Gallatin?
- 4 How Does the Soil Affect Trees in Gallatin?
- 5 Does Weather Affect Tree Health in Gallatin?
- 6 What If Dead Trees Are Near Power Lines in Gallatin?
- 7 How Much Does Tree Removal Usually Cost in Gallatin?
What Are the Most Common Tree Issues in Gallatin?
From our beautiful, historic Rose Mont and City Cemetery to our thriving downtown, with its many special events, it’s no wonder Gallatin was rated as “The Nicest Place in America” recently. With our numerous parks, tree-lined streets, and excellent golf courses, Gallatin offers countless ways to enjoy the wealth of nature all around us. From the quiet, shady streets of Woodson Terrace and our popular Lock 4 Mountainbike Trail, we take pride in the beautiful trees our city has to offer. Unfortunately, while we love the trees in our yards and along our streets and sidewalks, those trees require care, maintenance, and sometimes, removal. Here in Gallatin, our trees generally have great growing conditions, but all trees can be vulnerable to disease, pests, and damage.
Tree Diseases
Just as people can fall prey to diseases, trees are susceptible, too. Not all tree diseases are necessarily fatal, but any of them can weaken a tree, making it more vulnerable to other hazards.
- Thousand Cankers Disease: This fungal disease spreads easily through firewood from infected trees or when carried by insects. Thousand cankers affects mostly walnut trees in Tennessee, blocking affected trees’ ability to move water and nutrients through their systems. While firewood is not quarantined in Sumner County, nearby counties do have restrictions.
- Verticillium Wilt: A disease affecting numerous species, including maple, lilac, redbud, magnolia, and tulip poplars, verticillium wilt is a fungus that spreads through the soil or by spores that travel through the air or are carried by people, animals, equipment, or other moving objects. Leaves wilt and curl up as their water supply is blocked. Most infected trees die without treatment.
Insect Pests
Numerous insect pests damage and even kill trees across Tennessee, generally either by boring pathways under the bark so parts of the tree can’t receive water and nutrients or by defoliating trees, which can substantially weaken them. Repeated or prolonged infestations are often fatal or can weaken a tree, making it more vulnerable to other infections or damage.
- Emerald Ash Borer: A relatively new, invasive insect in Tennessee, emerald ash borers attack only ash trees and often kill them within a few years.
- Hemlock Wooly Adelgid: Another invasive insect, the hemlock wooly adelgid attacks and kills our native hemlock trees within just a few years.
Environmental Conditions
While Gallatin is, in general, an excellent place for trees to grow and thrive, tornadoes and severe storms in the summer can pack winds that damage and even topple our trees. In the winter, while our snowfall isn’t likely to be enough to affect our trees, the ice storms we do frequently suffer can be devastating for trees, bringing down limbs and even whole trees. Proper tree maintenance, including branch thinning, can help to limit the damage such storms can cause.
Does the City of Gallatin Provide Any Assistance in Tree Removal Problems?
The City of Gallatin is responsible for trees in public spaces, such as along sidewalks and in parks, but can not be responsible for trees on private property. The city can help when a tree becomes a public hazard or nuisance, such as a fallen tree (debris in the road) or branches that extend over sidewalks or block the line of sight along streets or sidewalks. These can all be reported on the City’s Fix It Form.
Who Is Responsible for Fallen Tree Removal in Gallatin?
According to Tennessee law and common practice, the responsibility for removing a fallen tree depends primarily on the condition of the tree before it fell. When healthy trees fall, it is usually the result of a weather event considered an “act of God” by insurance companies and the courts. In such cases, the homeowner on whose property the tree fell (and their insurance company) is normally responsible for its removal, regardless of whether the tree grew on their property, a neighbor’s, or on a city street. When a tree was clearly and visibly in poor shape, the situation is a bit murkier, but in most cases, especially if you can prove you alerted the tree’s owner to its declining health, the tree’s owner is instead responsible if it falls.
If you’re a homeowner?
As mentioned, homeowners are normally responsible for removing healthy trees that fall on their property, while tree owners are more often responsible when dead or obviously dying or damaged trees fall.
If you’re a renter?
Renters are almost never responsible for tree removal where they live. Instead, landlords are normally responsible for tree removal along with other major maintenance tasks on their properties. Keeping an eye on the trees on your property and neighboring lots and alerting your landlord to any problems are great ways to help your landlord prevent damage to your home.
If you’re a landlord?
Landlords must generally take care of fallen trees along the same lines that homeowners do. Proper tree maintenance can encourage better landlord-tenant relations and protect your valuable investment.
If you’re a neighbor?
If your healthy tree falls onto your neighbor’s property as the result of a storm, they are normally responsible for removing the part of the tree on their property. If your tree was dead or dying when it fell, you may be liable instead, especially if you knew before it fell and were negligent about taking action. Regularly examining trees on your property and neighboring lots can help prevent damage and make for better relationships with your neighbors.
How Does the Soil Affect Trees in Gallatin?
Soil and water provide nutrients that trees need to survive. Three major components of soil are sand, silt, and clay, which, in appropriate ratios, help to retain nutrients and enough water to provide what trees need and drain away excess water that can encourage rotting roots and mold. Loam is a soil that has a good ratio of these ingredients for healthy growth, and loam, specifically silty loam, is the primary soil found around Gallatin. In a silty loam soil, trees can gather plenty of nutrients and water to promote steady, healthy growth aboveground, and have plenty of space for roots to spread underground.
Does Weather Affect Tree Health in Gallatin?
Our warm, humid summers and mild winters in Gallatin, technically called a “humid subtropical” climate, provide excellent conditions for a wide variety of both deciduous and evergreen tree species. Our trees generally receive plenty of rain, warmth, and sunlight. Lightning strikes and the strong winds that come with unsettled summer weather can be damaging to our trees, but even worse are tornadoes, such as the devastating tornado outbreak of 2006. Equally challenging can be winter’s ice storms which can make every branch, twig, and limb on a tree weigh up to 30 times more than it otherwise would. That extremely heavy load can be disastrous for a tree, especially if it has a split trunk or other structural conditions that make it more vulnerable to such damage.
What If Dead Trees Are Near Power Lines in Gallatin?
Requirements from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission specify that electric utility providers must “manage vegetation” along their main transmission lines (between the poles and larger transmission lines) to reduce outages and other electrical issues. The Gallatin Electric Department must also do so, whether trees are on public or private property. For trees on private property, trimming and tree removal will normally include only the problematic parts of a tree; homeowners are responsible for the remainder of a tree if they desire its removal or trimming. Homeowners are also liable for any tree work needed where trees may impact their service lines (from the pole to your home). We can help in those situations.
How Much Does Tree Removal Usually Cost in Gallatin?
The idea that homeownership means there’s always something needing to be taken care of around your property certainly holds true for tree maintenance, though many people delay such work, expecting it to be too costly. The good news is that most tree removals in Gallatin cost around $450 to $650 with the average job running about $550. Removal of trees which have already fallen will generally cost even less–often hundreds of dollars less! Because each tree and its location and environment are so very different, the cost to remove a problematic tree can vary widely and move up to the $2,000 range. There are, however, some elements that most commonly influence the price for many tree removal jobs, including:
Size & Type of Tree
As you probably expect, larger trees will generally bring with them larger prices if they need to be removed. Not only is there simply more tree to remove, but large tree removal also requires extra planning and attention to detail in addition to the labor needed. Some common trees around Gallatin with harder, denser wood, such as shagbark hickory, ironwood, persimmon, and oaks, will require more time and effort to remove, often adding to your costs. Softer wood trees, including pine, spruce, and hemlock, will usually be faster and easier for our crews to take down, resulting in lower costs.
Location & Accessibility
We often hear that one of the most critical factors in determining the cost of a home is “location, location, location”, and it applies just as much to the cost of having a tree removed. Trees located in yards with ample space to work in can make for a much less expensive job than a tree with a more complicated situation. When we remove a tree, we must work carefully around your home, other trees, utility lines, landscaping, garage, outbuildings, play equipment, patio, and, of course, your neighbors’ properties. Working around each of these obstacles will add to the cost of removing a nearby tree.
Additional Equipment & Services
Some tree removals require specialized equipment, such as a bucket truck or a larger crew to do the job safely, and charges may be adjusted to accommodate that. Homeowners sometimes request additional work with our tree removal services, such as firewood splitting, wood chipping, or stump grinding; all of which can add to your bottom line.
