Pruning is the most common tree work on a residential property, and the easiest to get wrong. Taking the wrong limbs — or too many of them — leaves a tree weaker and more likely to fail than before anyone touched it. Every pruning job we take on is specified by an ISA Certified Arborist who decides which cuts serve the tree and which ones only serve the saw. Our crews climb and rig rather than spike, cut at the branch collar so wounds close properly, and haul off every bit of debris before they leave. It starts with a free on-site assessment.
Free on-site assessment · 24/7 emergency response available
Tree Pruning Services from Certified Arborists
Pruning is not one job. These are the four we are called out for most often across Auburn, Kent, and the wider South Puget Sound.
Crown Cleaning
Dead, broken, diseased, and crossing limbs taken out of the canopy. The lowest-risk pruning there is and usually the highest value — it removes what is most likely to come down in a windstorm without touching the live canopy the tree depends on.
Thinning & Crown Reduction
Selective cuts that ease wind load and end weight on heavy limbs, reducing height and spread back to live laterals so the tree keeps a natural form. This is the alternative to topping, which we do not do.
Structural & Young Tree Pruning
Small corrective cuts made early to establish one dominant leader and good branch spacing. The least expensive tree work you will ever pay for, and it prevents the codominant stems that split trees apart twenty years later.
Clearance & Safety Pruning
Raising canopies off roofs, driveways, sidewalks, and sight lines. Auburn holds property owners responsible for keeping growth from overhanging the sidewalk below seven feet of clearance — this is the work that handles it.
Pruning cannot fix a dead or structurally failed tree. If that is what you are looking at, see tree removal services.
How Our Tree Pruning Process Works
You know what is being cut and why before a saw comes out of the truck.
Free On-Site Assessment
An arborist walks the property with you and listens to what is actually bothering you — light, clearance, safety, or the look of it.
Arborist Prescription
We tell you which cuts we recommend and which ones we will not make. If a tree does not need pruning this year, we will say so.
Clear Written Estimate
A written scope and price, with no line items that appear after the fact. Nothing starts until you approve it.
Climbing, Rigging & Cutting
Crews climb on ropes and saddles or work from a lift — never spikes on a tree that is staying. Limbs over structures are rigged down, not dropped.
Cleanup & Walkthrough
Brush and wood chipped and hauled off, the site raked out, and a crew lead walks the finished work with you before leaving.
Permits, Sidewalks, and Power Lines
Pruning is regulated far more lightly than removal in this area, but there are three situations worth knowing about before you book work.
Pruning trees on your own propertygenerally not permit work
The tree codes here are written around removal, land clearing, and development — not routine pruning. Auburn’s clearing and grading chapter (ACC 15.74.050) does not name pruning or trimming at all, and Kent’s tree provisions (KCC 15.08) govern retention plans and replacement for trees removed or destroyed, not pruning.
So pruning a healthy tree in your own yard is normally not permit work in Auburn or Kent. Two exceptions: a lot with an approved tree retention plan from a development permit, and a tree inside a critical area, wetland buffer, or steep-slope setback. We flag either one during the assessment, not after the work.
Trees over the sidewalk or in the right-of-wayowner’s responsibility in Auburn
Auburn puts overhanging growth on the property owner. If vegetation “obscures traffic signs or overhangs the sidewalk so that there is less than 7 feet of vertical clearance, that vegetation needs to be trimmed back by the property owner, or Homeowner Association for private streets” (City of Auburn Public Works).
Removing a tree standing in the right-of-way is a different matter. In Kent, no tree may be removed from a public right-of-way without a permit, and one is issued only where the tree is a fire, safety, or health hazard (KCC 8.07.090). Clearance pruning out there is routine; removal is not.
Trees growing near power linesPSE handles its own lines
Puget Sound Energy maintains clearance around its own lines: “PSE is responsible for the trimming or removal of incompatible trees near our power lines,” that work is “performed by specially trained contract crews working for Puget Sound Energy,” and “all work will be done at no additional cost to you, the customer” (PSE vegetation management).
If the limbs worrying you are touching an energized line, call PSE first — that work is theirs. We do not perform line clearance. We do regularly prune trees growing near lines, at a safe working distance from the conductors, and we will tell you on site which parts of the tree are ours to touch and which are not.
Frequently Asked Questions About Our Tree Pruning Services
When is the best time of year to prune trees in Washington?
Late fall through late winter, while trees are dormant, is the best window for most species in the Puget Sound region. The structure is visible without leaves, wounds close cleanly as growth resumes in spring, and insect and disease pressure is at its lowest. Dead, broken, and hazardous limbs are the exception — those come out whenever they are found, in any season.
How often should trees be pruned?
Most established shade trees need attention every three to five years. Young trees benefit from light structural pruning every one to two years while their form is still being set, and fruit trees are usually on an annual cycle. Rather than pruning on a fixed schedule, we would rather look at the tree and tell you whether it needs anything at all this year.
What is the difference between tree pruning and tree trimming?
In everyday use the two words mean the same thing, and we answer to both. Within the trade, pruning usually refers to selective cuts made for the health and structure of the tree, while trimming leans toward shaping and clearance. The work on your invoice is the same either way — what matters is that an arborist chose the cuts.
Does topping shorten a tree's life?
Yes, and we do not do it. Cutting a canopy back to stubs forces a flush of weakly attached shoots, opens large wounds the tree cannot close, and starts decay in the remaining trunk. Those regrown limbs are more likely to fail in a storm than the ones that were removed. Where height genuinely has to come down, crown reduction back to live lateral branches does it without the damage.
Do you trim hedges as well as trees?
We do trim and shape hedges. We do not take on general shrub and bush care, planting beds, or landscape maintenance — that work belongs with a landscaper. If you are unsure which side of the line your project falls on, describe it when you call and we will tell you straight.
What cities do we service?
Pacific Arboriculture works across south King County and north Pierce County from our shop in Auburn. These are the 20 communities we serve and the ZIP codes they cover.
King County
- Auburn — 98001, 98002, 98092
- Kent — 98030, 98031, 98032, 98042
- Federal Way — 98003, 98023
- Renton — 98055, 98056, 98057, 98058, 98059
- Fairwood — 98058
- Covington — 98042
- Maple Valley — 98038
- Burien — 98146, 98148, 98166, 98168
- SeaTac — 98148, 98158, 98168, 98188, 98198
- Tukwila — 98108, 98168, 98178, 98188
- Des Moines — 98148, 98198
- Normandy Park — 98148, 98166, 98198
- Pacific — 98001, 98047
Pierce County
- Tacoma — 98402, 98403, 98404, 98405, 98406, 98407, 98408, 98409, 98418, 98421, 98422, 98443, 98444, 98445, 98446, 98465, 98466
- Puyallup — 98371, 98372, 98373, 98374, 98375
- Fife — 98424
- Sumner — 98390, 98391
- Edgewood — 98371, 98372
- Bonney Lake — 98391
- Lake Tapps — 98391
Several of these communities share a ZIP code with a neighbor, so seeing the same number twice is normal. Puyallup includes South Hill, and the Tacoma list covers the Midland, Summit and Parkland areas. Not sure whether you are in range? Call (206) 909-2170 with your address and you will get a straight answer. City-by-city detail is on the areas we serve page.
Storm Damage and Hanging Limbs
A limb hung up in the canopy, a split leader, or a branch resting on a roof is not a scheduled pruning job. Call and we will get someone out.
How Much Does Tree Pruning Cost?
Pruning is priced per job, not per hour or per branch, because two trees of the same height can take wildly different amounts of work. These are the factors that move the number up or down.
| What drives the price | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Size and species | A 25-foot ornamental and an 80-foot Douglas fir are not the same day of work. |
| Access to the tree | A backyard tree behind a narrow gate has to be climbed and carried out by hand. A front-yard tree a lift can reach takes a fraction of the time. |
| Type of pruning | A crown cleaning is a fraction of the work of a full reduction or a crown restoration on a previously topped tree. |
| What is underneath | Limbs over a roof, a garage, or a greenhouse have to be rigged down piece by piece instead of dropped. |
| Number of trees in one visit | The crew, chipper, and drive time are already on site. Additional trees pruned on the same visit cost considerably less per tree. |
Any range quoted over the phone is approximate — every job is priced after a free on-site assessment. A $500 minimum applies to a standalone pruning visit; smaller pruning jobs are most often added to a larger project on the same property, which is usually the better value. Chipping and debris haul-off are included.
ISA Certified Arborists
Every certification number below links to that arborist’s credential record with the International Society of Arboriculture, so you can verify it before anyone sets foot on your property.
Washington L&I Contractor License PACIFA*813KG · WSDA Applicator #109480 · $1M insured
Schedule Your Tree Pruning
Tell us which trees are bothering you and an ISA Certified Arborist will come look at them at no charge.