Tree Service in Maple Bluff, WI

Maple Bluff is a small village, about 0.70 square miles on the eastern shore of Lake Mendota and home to the Wisconsin Governor's Mansion. It also has one of the most detailed pictures of its urban forest in the area. In spring 2023 the village had its public trees inventoried, with funding from a Wisconsin DNR grant and village matching funds, and the November 2023 report counted 1,215 public trees: 937 along streets and 278 in parks and on municipal land. Private yards were not part of the count, but your trees grew up in the same soil and the same weather, and our tree service in Maple Bluff starts from what that report found.

The species mix

The five most common street trees were Norway maple (11.42%), sugar maple (10.14%), northern white cedar (10.03%), crabapple (7.68%) and common hackberry (5.55%). In parks, northern white cedar led at 19.1%, followed by swamp white oak and northern red oak at 6.8% each. Across both, the inventory recorded 73 species in 43 genera, which spreads the risk if a single pest arrives. Only 17 ash were left on street rights-of-way, about 1.8% of street trees, after years of emerald ash borer.

The finding that matters most for homeowners

The report noted codominant branching on about 74.4% of the trees it recorded. Codominant stems are two or more trunks of similar size growing from the same point. They often trap bark between them as they grow, and that seam is weaker than a normal branch union. It is one of the most common reasons large maples split in storms. The inventory also rated only 6.9% of public trees in good condition, with about 90% in fair condition.

Private trees were not part of the survey, but codominant stems are a common defect in mature shade trees wherever they grow. For a mature maple or oak with codominant stems over a house, the realistic options are:

• Reduction pruning to lighten the heavier stem and shorten its lever arm
• Cabling and bracing to limit how far the stems can spread apart in wind
• Removal when a crack has already formed or decay is present at the union

Which one fits depends on the tree, and we will explain the reasoning on site.

Oaks near the lake

Red oaks like the ones in the village parks are highly susceptible to oak wilt, which the Wisconsin DNR says can kill them within weeks. Prune oaks in the dormant season, and if one is wounded between April and July, seal it right away.

Yard waste and contractor wood

Maple Bluff Public Works aims to collect yard waste and debris weekly from April 1 through November, and asks residents to stack branches with the cut end facing the street, apart from leaves and garden debris. The village states that contractors are responsible for disposing of branches and limbs they remove, so our quotes include chipping and hauling. The village has an Urban Forester on staff; questions about public trees go to Public Works at (608) 244-3048.

Call (608) 820-8710 or send the request form to schedule a free estimate. If you know a tree has a fork, a crack or an old cable, mention it so we can bring the right gear. Get a free estimate