Tree Work for San Marcos Homes, Lots and Acreage
Dead limbs over the roof, a red oak that browned out in three weeks, a stump the mower keeps finding. One call to (877) 674-2213 gets the job described and a look at it lined up.
Call about a tree: (877) 674-2213Please stay on the line while your call connects.Phones open 7am – 10pm EST weekdays, shorter hours on weekends.
Tree or limb on the house or car? See storm and fallen-tree removal.
| Monday through Friday | 7am – 10pm EST6am – 9pm Central |
|---|---|
| Saturday | 8am – 10pm EST7am – 9pm Central |
| Sunday | 7am – 9pm EST6am – 8pm Central |
Tree Down on the House, Car or Fence?
A storm-split limb on the roof, a trunk across the driveway, a cedar elm folded over a parked car. These are the calls that can't wait for a good month. Get everyone out of rooms under the damage, stay well back from any downed wire (utilities commonly advise at least 35 feet), and call 911 if a line is sparking or anyone is hurt. Then call about the tree.
What Usually Brings People to the Phone
Most calls around San Marcos fall into a handful of situations, and they tend to follow the seasons.
A limb is resting on the roof or rubbing the gutter every time the wind picks up. On older streets near downtown and around Texas State, the culprit is often a pecan or cedar elm planted decades ago that has simply outgrown the lot.
A tree died fast. When a Texas red oak goes from green to brown in a few weeks, especially in late spring or summer, oak wilt is on the list of suspects and the tree needs handling with some care so it doesn't feed the problem to the oaks next door.
A hackberry came up along the fence twenty years ago and now leans over the neighbor's driveway. Hackberries grow fast, sprout everywhere birds drop seed, and carry a lot of mistletoe in this part of Texas.
After a storm, something is on the ground that shouldn't be. Spring and early summer thunderstorms here can split cedar elms and drop big oak limbs across fences and cars.
On the bigger lots off Ranch Road 12 on the west side, cedar has crowded the place and the owner wants the oaks back.
Tree Services Around San Marcos
Storm and fallen-tree removal
Limbs on roofs, trees across driveways and fences. The page lays out exactly when the phones are answered and what to do first.
Tree removal
Dead, leaning, split or simply wrong-place trees, including ones tight against a house where pieces have to be lowered on ropes instead of dropped. Crane-assisted removal is on the table when there's no other safe way in.
Tree trimming and pruning
Raising the canopy off roofs, sidewalks and the street, thinning heavy limbs, cutting out deadwood, mistletoe and excess ball moss. Cabling and bracing for split-prone trees that are worth keeping.
Stump grinding
Grinding below grade so the spot can take sod or a new tree, plus surface roots that trip the mower.
Oak trimming and oak wilt concerns
Live oaks and red oaks trimmed outside the February through June window, cuts painted the same day, and dead red oaks taken down and disposed of the right way.
Cedar clearing and brush removal
Selective clearing of Ashe juniper on Hill Country lots and rural acreage, with mulching or haul-off instead of a burn pile you may not be allowed to light.
Commercial tree work
HOA common areas, apartment and student-housing properties, parking lots and retail sites that have clearance rules to meet.
Also on the same call
Planting a replacement tree, palm trimming and tree health treatments come up as part of these jobs too. Ask about them when you call, or see all services.
Why the Calendar Matters With Trees Here
Oaks set the schedule. Texas A&M Forest Service guidance is to avoid pruning oaks from February 1 through June 30, when the sap beetles that carry oak wilt spores are most active, and to paint every oak wound right away no matter the month. So most oak trimming around San Marcos gets booked for late summer through January. That's the whole trick, and plenty of yards still get it wrong.
Brown boxes are the months to leave oaks alone. Storm damage is the exception.
Mistletoe is easiest to spot in winter, once cedar elms and hackberries drop their leaves and the green clumps stand out. That's the time to get it pruned.
Storm damage doesn't wait for a good month. A split limb hanging over a bedroom gets handled when it happens, oak or not, and the cut gets painted.
More on the oak calendar: when to trim oak trees in Hays County.
Oak trimming fills up in the safe months.
Call to get on the list: (877) 674-2213Please stay on the line while your call connects.A Few San Marcos Rules Worth Knowing
Clearance over sidewalks and streets
The City of San Marcos asks property owners to keep vegetation clear of streets and sidewalks: at least 8 feet of clearance over the area between the property line and the curb, and 16 feet at the center of the street. If an inspector leaves a notice on the door, there are 10 days to fix it. Raising the canopy on a street-side live oak usually takes care of it.
Large trees and development
Large trees get extra attention in the city's development rules. City construction specifications treat trees 19 inches and larger in diameter as protected, with removal reviewed by the City Arborist when a site plan or permit is involved. If you're building, adding on or clearing a lot, check with the city's Permit Center at 512-805-2630 before anything comes down. The details are in Do you need a permit to remove a tree in San Marcos?
Burning brush
Open burning of brush isn't allowed inside San Marcos city limits. Outside town, Hays County burn rules apply, and burn bans come and go with dry weather. Having the brush chipped or hauled off sidesteps the question.
How a Call Works
- Call (877) 674-2213 during phone hours.
- Describe the tree and the job: what kind of tree if you know it, roughly how tall, where it sits relative to the house, lines or fences, and whether a truck can get to it.
- A time gets set for someone to look at it in person. Nobody can honestly price tree work from a phone description, so the number comes from that visit.
- The work gets scheduled. Ask then about haul-off, stump grinding and cleanup so it's all part of one plan.
Have the property address and any HOA requirements handy. If the tree is on or near a property line, it helps to know where the line actually runs.
Where in San Marcos Calls Come From
Inside San Marcos, calls come from the older blocks downtown and near campus, and from neighborhoods like these:
The west side sits on thin soil over limestone at the edge of the Hill Country. East of I-35 the ground turns to deep blackland clay. Trees and stumps behave differently in each.
Along the San Marcos and Blanco rivers, older pecans and bald cypress hang over the water and the yards that back onto it, and those are the trees that come down hardest when the ground is soaked.
ZIP codes covered: 78666 and 78667 only. Calls from outside those two ZIP codes can't be taken. More detail is on the San Marcos service area page.
Homes, HOAs and Commercial Lots
Residential work is most of it: one live oak over a patio, a row of hackberries along a back fence, a stump left from a storm. Commercial properties have different pressure points. Sidewalk clearance across a long frontage, sight lines in parking lots, common-area oaks that the HOA can only touch in certain months. The commercial page covers how those jobs get planned.
Quick Answers
Can I get a price over the phone?
No. Tree work depends on things nobody can see from a description: how the trunk leans, what's under the canopy, how the wood looks inside the cuts. The phone call is for describing the job and setting up an in-person look.
What hours are the phones answered?
Monday through Friday 7am – 10pm EST, Saturday 8am – 10pm EST, Sunday 7am – 9pm EST. In San Marcos time that's an hour earlier on each end.
Is it safe to trim my live oak in March?
Not unless it's damaged. February through June is the high-risk stretch for oak wilt spread. Broken limbs still get cut and painted right away, but routine trimming waits.
Is Kyle or New Braunfels covered?
No. Coverage is San Marcos only, in ZIP codes 78666 and 78667.
More questions are answered on the FAQ page and in the tree notes.
Got a Tree That Needs Looking At?
Call (877) 674-2213 and describe it.