Tree Service in Mount Horeb, WI

Mount Horeb sits at about 1,243 feet, well above Madison, in the Driftless Area: the unglaciated region of rolling hills that the last ice sheet went around. Blue Mound State Park, the highest point in the Driftless at 1,719 feet, is nearby. That elevation and open, rolling terrain shape almost everything about tree service in Mount Horeb. Trees on ridges and hilltops catch more wind than trees in a sheltered valley, and in many parts of the Driftless the soil over bedrock is thin, which keeps roots shallow.

What wind does to hilltop trees

You can often see it in the trees themselves. Crowns that have grown heavier on the downwind side, trunks with a slight permanent lean, and limbs that have broken and resprouted are all signs of a windy site. Those trees are not necessarily dangerous, but they need different care:

• Thinning the crown to let wind pass through instead of loading it like a sail
• Shortening long, heavy limbs on the exposed side
• Removing deadwood, which breaks first in a gust
• Watching for root plate movement in trees growing on shallow soil
• Being careful about removing one tree from a group, since its neighbors suddenly take wind they never had to

That last point matters more here than in a sheltered suburb. Taking out half a windbreak can leave the other half vulnerable.

Where the trolls come from

Mount Horeb calls itself the Troll Capital of the World, and many of the roughly 40 trolls along the Main Street Trollway were carved from logs with a chainsaw. The tradition took off in the 1980s, after the highway bypass. It is a fine reminder that a big trunk from a removal can have a second life. If you would like a section of a removed tree left long for a carver, firewood or a bench, tell us before the job and we will cut it accordingly.

Planting for shade

The village website points residents to the Mount Horeb Electric Utility for rebate information on planting a shade tree. If you are replacing a tree we removed, pick a spot with room for the full-grown canopy and well away from overhead lines, and choose a species suited to a windy, well-drained site.

Trails and edges

The Military Ridge State Trail, a 39-mile bike trail on a former railroad bed, has several access points in Mount Horeb. Homes along it and along the village's rural edges can have old tree lines with dead ash or storm-damaged trees mixed in. We can clear the hazards and leave the healthy trees standing.

Mostly homeowners

Census QuickFacts reports a 70.8% owner-occupied rate in Mount Horeb, a median owner-occupied value of $388,900, and 85.8% of residents living in the same home as a year earlier. The village has about 7,700 residents on 3.23 square miles.

Oak timing

Oaks are native to this landscape; before settlement, bur oak savanna covered Driftless ridgetops and dry upper slopes. If you have oaks, keep pruning to the dormant season. The Wisconsin DNR's oak wilt high-risk period runs April through July.

Call (608) 820-8710 or use the request form to book a free estimate. If the tree is on an exposed ridge or in a windbreak, mention it so we can plan the visit. Get a free estimate