Most tree trimming calls from Spring, TX come down to three jobs: keeping limbs off roofs and wires, getting oaks pruned in the months when it is safe to cut them, and thinning out weak wood before hurricane season. The trees involved are big. Water oaks spread over driveways, loblolly pines tower over back fences, and crape myrtles line the front walks.
The line itself does no trimming. It is a free call that hands you to a company that does. Dial (346) 680-8916, tell the assistant which trees need work and your ZIP, and you are put through to an independent, locally owned tree trimming service in Spring, which looks at the trees and quotes its own price.
Trees, wires and outages
In the summer of 2023, a family near the Grand Parkway and Rayford Road told ABC13 they had received ten outage notices from CenterPoint Energy in a single summer, and CenterPoint blamed trees falling on lines as well as heat-related equipment failures. Spring's wooded lots put a lot of limbs close to wires, so trimming here often starts with a look up.
| Where the limbs are | Who trims | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Along the main lines, pole to pole | CenterPoint's contract crews | CenterPoint does not charge for typical trimming on its own lines. Forestry team: 713-207-2222. |
| On the service drop to your house | The homeowner, through a tree company | CenterPoint's service standards say the drop must be kept free of tree contact by the customer. |
| Over the roof, fence or driveway | The homeowner, through a tree company | Check HOA rules if the tree is in a common area or greenbelt. |
| A limb has brought a line down | 911 and the utility | Stay far back. Nobody should touch the tree or the wire. |
CenterPoint delivers power in most of Spring, but check the utility named on your bill before calling anyone about the lines.
When to book trimming in Spring
Two calendars overlap here: the oak wilt window and hurricane season. Planning around both is the whole trick.
July to January
Open season for oaks. Texas A&M Forest Service says to avoid pruning or wounding oaks from February through June and to paint any oak cut right away. Book thinning and clearance work on water oaks and live oaks in these months.
Late winter
Light crape myrtle pruning, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: suckers, crossing branches and limbs touching the house. Leave the oaks alone from February on.
Before June 1
Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1. The ISA says dead, weak or diseased limbs can be removed at any time of year, so clear dead wood from pines and other trees over the house before the season begins.
Tall pines over the house
Pines are a Spring trimming question all their own. A healthy loblolly drops dead lower limbs as it grows, and on a tree 60 feet or taller those limbs can come down hard on a roof or a car. A trimming visit for a pine is usually about taking out dead and broken branches and any limbs rubbing the roof, not about reshaping the tree. Topping a pine, or any tree, is not a fix: the ISA explains that topping leaves weak regrowth and decay.
If a pine is browning at the top or the bark is falling away, it is not a trimming job anymore. Ask the company whether the tree should stay at all, and read tree removal in Spring for what comes next.
Good trimming looks like
- Dead, broken and crossing limbs removed
- Clean cuts just outside the branch collar
- Limbs pulled back from roof, gutters and the service wire
- Oak cuts made July to January and painted
Walk away from
- Topping or rounding over a tree
- Stripping out most of the inner branches in one visit
- Heavy oak pruning in spring
- Anyone offering to cut near a power line
HOAs, greenbelts and the brush pile
Many Spring subdivisions back onto HOA greenbelts, drainage reserves or wooded common areas. Limbs from those trees often hang over private fences. Before you have them cut, ask the association who maintains the trees and whether it allows homeowners to trim branches over their own yard. Your deed restrictions may also say something about trimming or removing trees on your lot.
Then think about the brush. A trimming job on two big oaks can fill a driveway, and MUD trash contractors take only small, tied bundles, as the Spring tree service page explains. Ask whether chipping and hauling are in the quote. HomeGuide lists hauling as a separate charge on many jobs.
Choosing who trims
Texas does not license tree trimmers, and the state requires a license only for companies that apply pesticides to trees for hire. Ask every company for a certificate of insurance from its agent and for any ISA certification number, then check it. The general tree trimming page explains pruning methods in more depth, and the tree trimming cost guide shows what affects the price.
Check the company yourself. Texas has no state license for tree trimming or tree removal, so a business card proves very little. Ask the company for a certificate of general liability insurance sent by its insurance agent, proof of workers' compensation coverage, and the ISA certification number of its arborist. A company that sprays or injects trees for hire needs a pesticide license from the Texas Department of Agriculture or its Structural Pest Control Service. You can confirm a certification with the ISA's credential lookup (opens in a new tab).
Say how many trees, what kind and what they are near. The company you are put through to sees them and gives you its own price before any work starts.
How a Spring trimming call works
- Call any hourAn automated assistant answers (346) 680-8916 and asks what kind of tree work you need.
- Describe the jobGive your name, a callback number, your city or ZIP and what the tree is doing, including anything on a roof, a car or a line.
- Get put throughThe call goes to an independent, locally owned tree service company, which hears a short summary before it picks up.
- Deal with them directlyThat company looks at the tree, quotes, does the work and is paid by you. If it cannot answer, it gets your details to call back.
How this line works: Tree Service Houston TX is a free phone line, not a tree service company. It does not trim, remove, quote or schedule tree work and holds no license or arborist certification. Calls are transferred to independent, locally owned tree service companies in the Houston area. Those companies may pay Tree Service Houston TX a referral fee. You never pay the line. How it works.