Tree Service in Cross Plains, WI

Cross Plains sits right on one of the most studied boundaries in Wisconsin: the edge of the last glaciation. The Ice Age Trail segment through the village follows Black Earth Creek in a valley between tall bluffs, with glaciated land to the east and north and the Driftless Area to the west and south. Just outside the village, the Wilkie Gorge unit of the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve is described as a world-renowned example of the meeting of glaciated and unglaciated terrain, marked by the Johnstown Moraine. For tree service in Cross Plains, that geology is not trivia. It decides how deep the soil is, how steep the yard is and what kind of trees are growing on it.

Valley floor, slope and ridge

A quick way to think about Cross Plains properties:

• Creek valley lots near Black Earth Creek tend to be flatter and wetter. Trees there can grow large, and saturated soil after heavy rain is the main hazard.
• Slope lots climbing the bluffs are where removals get complicated. Dropping a tree downhill can send it farther than its height, and equipment cannot always reach. These jobs are usually done by climbing and lowering pieces on ropes.
• Ridge and Driftless-side lots to the west can sit on thin soil over shallow bedrock, which the Driftless Area literature notes limits tree growth on ridgetops. Trees there are often shallow-rooted and more exposed to wind.

We look at all three things on a visit: soil, slope and exposure.

Oaks are a big part of the picture

The natural communities around the reserve include oak savanna and oak forest, and where a village yard has oaks, they are long-lived and worth protecting, but they come with one firm rule: avoid pruning or wounding them from April through July, when the Wisconsin DNR says sap beetles carry oak wilt to fresh cuts. Red and black oaks can die within weeks of infection; white and bur oaks resist it better but are not immune. The fungus also spreads underground between oaks through grafted roots, so one infected tree can threaten a neighbor's.

Typical work in and around the village

1. Dormant-season pruning of mature oaks over houses and driveways 2. Removal of dead ash in the creek valley and along fence lines 3. Rope-rigged removals on steep back slopes 4. Clearing limbs over long rural driveways in the surrounding town 5. Stump grinding on lots where a slope makes regrading hard

A small village with room around it

The village covers about 1.8 square miles and had 4,104 residents in 2020, and it sits partly within the Town of Cross Plains, a rural town of about 35 square miles that also includes Pine Bluff. Many of our calls come from those larger rural properties, where a single storm can drop several trees across a driveway or fence.

Before you cut on a slope

If you are thinking about clearing trees on a hillside for a view, start small. Roots hold steep soil in place, and removing several trees at once can lead to erosion. Thinning and limbing up often open a view with far less risk.

Call (608) 820-8710 or send the form to set up a free estimate. For hillside jobs, a photo from the bottom of the slope helps us plan. Get a free estimate