Tree Service in Black Earth, WI

Early on June 8, 1984, the F5 Barneveld tornado formed near Ridgeway and moved northeast. After destroying 170 of Barneveld's 225 buildings, it ripped apart 24 more homes on the way to Black Earth, then struck the village itself, damaging 16 homes, destroying eight and injuring three people. It went on to the Lodi area before dissipating. It is one of only three F5 tornadoes to hit Wisconsin since 1950. Any tree planted during the rebuilding years is now about forty years old, and much of our tree service in Black Earth is about keeping trees of that age sound as they mature.

Trees that are about forty years old

A tree planted in the mid-1980s has reached an age when the decisions made, or not made, in its early years start to show. Common issues at that stage include:

• Two equal trunks growing from one fork, often with bark trapped between them
• Long limbs that were never shortened, now heavy and extended over a roof
• Crowded crowns where several trees were planted close together for quick shade
• Old wounds from storms or mowers that have turned into decay pockets

Most of those can be managed with pruning. Thinning, reducing the heaviest limbs and removing a weaker codominant stem while the tree is healthy prevent many of the failures we see after storms. Where a defect is too far along, removal is the safer call, and we will explain why.

The Driftless side of the boundary

Black Earth lies west of Cross Plains, where the Ice Age Trail marks the edge between glaciated land to the east and the Driftless Area to the west and south. In the Driftless, bedrock sits close to the surface in many places, and thin soils on ridgetops limit tree growth. Valley floors and ridges behave differently: valley lots can hold more moisture, while trees on higher, thinner ground root shallower and take more wind. On a visit we look at where the tree stands as well as how it looks.

A compact village

The village covers about 0.86 square miles and had 1,493 residents at the 2020 census. It sits inside the larger Town of Black Earth, and we also work on the rural properties around it, where long driveways, fence lines and woodlot edges can include dead ash and storm-damaged trees.

Oaks and ash

Oaks are part of the native Driftless landscape; before settlement, bur oak savanna covered ridgetops and dry upper slopes, with oak and maple forests on moister slopes. Keep oak pruning to the dormant season, as the Wisconsin DNR recommends, to avoid oak wilt. Ash should be checked for emerald ash borer, which has been confirmed in most Wisconsin counties; a dead ash becomes brittle quickly and is safer to remove sooner than later.

Before the next storm

If a tree over your house has a cracked fork, a large dead limb or a lean that is getting worse, deal with it on a calm day. Storm-damaged trees are harder and riskier to work on, and the work takes longer when everything is tangled.

To set up a free estimate, call (608) 820-8710 any time to leave details, or send the request form. We will walk the property with you and leave a written quote. Get a free estimate