Tree Service in La Cresta, CA

Tree Service in La Cresta comes with a jurisdiction question. La Cresta is an unincorporated community of about 8,800 people that the city of Bakersfield surrounds on most sides, with East Bakersfield along its southeast edge. Your street may be county and the next one over may be city. That matters for trees in the strip between the sidewalk and the street, because the City of Bakersfield controls parkway trees inside its limits and requires a permit for contractors who work on them. On the county side, those city rules do not reach.

Sorting out the parkway tree

If you live inside the city, parkway trees are under the control of the Recreation and Parks director, owners must still care for them, and a contractor needs a city permit before working on them. If you are in La Cresta proper, you are under Kern County. Either way, the tree in your back yard is yours to manage. Before we prune anything near the curb, we check which side of the line your property is on.

Higher ground than downtown

La Cresta sits at about 518 feet, more than a hundred feet above downtown Bakersfield's 404. The rise is gentle, but higher, more open ground on the northeast side gets a full share of winter wind. When the February 4, 2024 windstorm knocked out power across metro Bakersfield, PG&E named northeast Bakersfield among the hardest-hit areas.

La Cresta tree work

• Thinning big shade trees ahead of the windy months
• Removing dead pines and declining sweetgums
• Palm cleanups and palm removals
• Clearing limbs off roofs and the service line to the house
• Stump grinding and root cleanup
• Structural pruning on newly planted trees

New trees in East Bakersfield

Just southeast, East Bakersfield has seen new planting in recent years. In October 2023 the Jacaranda Neighborhood Project put 20 six-year-old jacarandas along King Street as a first phase toward 100 trees, with the Tree Foundation of Kern involved. Jacarandas bloom purple for about a month in spring and stay modest in size, which makes them a reasonable fit for many La Cresta front yards.

Dense, but not cramped

At about 8,400 residents per square mile, La Cresta is crowded enough that most removals need to be lowered in sections. Lots still usually have room in the front for a single shade tree and in the back for one or two more. Getting those trees pruned early so they grow up rather than out keeps them from becoming the next sectional removal.

Mistletoe and old ash

Leafy mistletoe is common in valley shade trees, especially ash and some maples. It shows up as green clumps in the bare winter canopy. Cutting off only the clump lets it grow back; removing the infected branch well below the clump is the lasting fix. We point out mistletoe on any winter estimate.

Request a visit

Call (661) 451-7519 or send the form with your address. We will figure out the city or county question, look at the tree and give you a written quote. call (661) 451-7519