Tree Trimming in Rochester

Rochester is the core of Monroe County, packed with pre-war housing stock from the 1900s through the 1940s. Neighborhoods like the 19th Ward and Park Avenue have mature elm, oak, and maple canopies that have been growing for 80-plus years. The city saw its biggest build-out between 1910 and 1950, so most lots have large trees close to older homes and utility lines. Tree work here is dense, tight, and requires knowing how to work in urban conditions.

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.