Tree Trimming in Brighton

Brighton is a first-ring suburb south of Rochester that built out heavily in the 1950s and 1960s, with a mix of colonials, split-levels, and ranches on lots that now hold very mature trees. It's home to a large professional and academic population, partly due to the University of Rochester being nearby. The tree canopy here is dense and well-established, which means trimming and removal jobs tend to be complex. A lot of homeowners here take their landscaping seriously.

Branches that hang over roofs or power lines in Rochester don't stay put through a lake-effect winter. The snow loads here can hit 40 inches in a single storm, and a limb that looked fine in October can split and come down on a fence or car by January. Neighborhoods like Irondequoit and the South Wedge have a lot of older maples and oaks — trees planted 50 or 60 years ago that are now big enough to cause real damage if they're not kept up.

We climb the tree or use a bucket truck, make cuts at the right collar — that's the raised ring where a branch meets the trunk — so the tree seals itself over time without rotting. We don't top trees, because topping kills the structure and leaves stubs that rot out in a few years, which means you'll pay more to deal with the mess later.