Tree Service in Cerritos, CA
Nearly every home in Cerritos has a city tree by the curb, pruned on a four-year cycle or sooner under the city's Pay-to-Trim permit. For the rest of your lot, our tree service in Cerritos trims and removes trees.
Tree care in Cerritos
From Dairy Valley to 30,000 street trees
Cerritos began as a dairy town with more cows than people. When it incorporated in 1956 as Dairy Valley, about 100,000 cattle outnumbered its 3,439 residents. It took the name Cerritos in 1967 and, from 1970 to 1972, was the fastest-growing city in California. The city planted as it grew: more than 30,000 trees since 1956, with about 250 young trees added each year. Nearly every home has a city tree out front. Cerritos has been a Tree City USA for 27 years, and the red willow at the Civic Center is a designated heritage tree.
In Cerritos, the tree by the curb is the city's — and no pruning, anywhere, may take more than a quarter of the crown.
Who governs tree work in Cerritos
City of Cerritos
Tree work in Cerritos follows the city's own tree rules. If the street tree in front of your property needs care or trimming, please leave the job to the City's tree care professionals. Visit the Public Works counter at City Hall to submit the Parkway Tree Application Form and fill out a No-Fee Tree Trimming Permit Application. The City ordinance requires a tree pruning permit for any entity wishing to prune or trim trees within commercial, industrial and multi-family zoned areas, as well as common areas within all residential developments that are governed by homeowners associations. Rules change. Confirm current requirements with the jurisdiction before work begins — filing a permit is the property owner's responsibility, not ours.
Source: Tree Trimming | City of Cerritos
What we handle
Pay-to-Trim parkway pruning and yard tree care in Cerritos
Supreme Tree Experts prunes parkway trees under Pay-to-Trim, trims yard trees and grinds stumps in Cerritos, a Tree City USA. Owners who want the city tree done before the city's cycle in Cerritos go to Supreme Tree Experts.
Tree Removal
Dead, failing or crowded trees behind the walk are taken down a section at a time. For a street tree, city policy says root damage to a sidewalk is not a reason by itself for removal. No more than 20% of one block's trees may come out in a year.
Tree Trimming & Pruning
Our crews trim yard trees to sound branches and can help with the parkway tree too. Under the city's Pay-to-Trim permit, an owner may hire a D-49 contractor with a state license. Ours is CSLB #1002853, and you stay responsible for right-of-way damage.
Stump Grinding & Stump Removal
A stump left behind blocks replanting, so we grind it well below the surface. That clears space for a new tree in the same spot, with fresh soil worked in. The grinder and the crew leave the ground level and raked.
Palm Tree Trimming & Skinning
Skinning peels old frond bases off a yard palm, and trimming takes the spent fronds and seed pods. A clean trunk sheds less litter onto lawns and walks. We work from a lift truck of our own and finish before windy weather arrives.
Emergency Tree Service
Night or day, a fallen or split tree on a Cerritos lot gets our 24/7 crew. The city replants about 250 young trees a year partly to replace storm losses. Those same storms reach trees in private yards.
Tree Maintenance
Care visits keep yard trees healthy and help you with the city tree out front. Single-family owners must water that tree and report any hazard to Public Works. We check the rest of your lot on the same visit.
Tree Height Reduction
Tall trees are lowered in stages, with each cut made just outside a branch collar. City rules ban topping, heading back, stubbing and pollarding, and cap one pruning at 25% of the crown. We hold private trees to the same standard.
Estate Tree Care
HOA common areas and multi-family grounds get a care plan that covers every tree. In Cerritos, those properties need a city pruning permit before any work. The association applies, and our crew works to the permit's terms.
Tree Shaping & Shrub Shearing
Shrubs and hedges around the front yard are sheared so they frame the house without crowding the walk. Owners here keep up the parkway planting around the city tree. We shape that low planting so it suits the tree above.
Landscaping
Yard plans here work with a city that has planted more than 30,000 trees since 1956. Your beds and new trees sit behind a parkway tree that is already there. We plan sizes and spacing so the two canopies don't clash.
Hardscape
Walks and patios are laid so tree roots and paving don't fight. When roots lift a city walk, the city tries root barriers or root pruning before removal. We use the same thinking when we set new paving near trees.
Cerritos tree questions, answered
Start here — these 6 cover most of what you need before booking tree work in Cerritos. If yours is not here, call 877-787-7363 and ask.
Yes, through the city's Pay-to-Trim program. The contractor must hold a D-49 and a California contractor's license, and you stay responsible for any damage to the public right-of-way. Otherwise, city code says only authorized city staff may prune a city tree. Ask Public Works at (562) 916-1220 about the permit first.
Not for that reason alone. City policy says root damage to sidewalks and curbs does not by itself qualify a tree for removal, and dropping leaves, needles or flowers never does. The city tries root barriers or pruning first. No more than 20% of the trees on one block may come out in a year.
A city pruning permit, and no topping. HOA common areas, and commercial, industrial and multi-family property, need a tree pruning permit before any work. Topping, heading back, stubbing and pollarding are banned. Improper pruning is a misdemeanor, and the tree must be replaced with one of like size or paid for at its appraised value.
Water it. Single-family owners must water the city tree in their parkway, keep up the landscaping around it and report any hazard to Public Works. The city handles the pruning, and proper pruning here never takes more than 25% of the leafy crown at once.
Yes — $600 for tree services, wherever the job is. The size of the tree, and whether it is a yard tree or a permitted city-tree trim, shape the cost here.
Yes, 24/7. The city replants about 250 young trees a year partly to replace ones lost to storms — and the same storms reach trees on private lots. Call 877-787-7363.
What happens after you call from Cerritos
- 01.
Parkway or yard?
An arborist looks over every tree on the lot. For the parkway tree, you get the city's permit steps before any work.
- Pay-to-Trim explained
- Yard trees quoted
- 02.
Keep to 25%
The plan lists each cut and keeps every tree within a quarter of its crown.
- No topping
- Written scope
- 03.
Crew and clean-out
The crew prunes, chips the brush and grinds any stumps on your list.
- Brush chipped
- Stumps ground
A D-49 crew for Cerritos parkways: what stands behind Supreme Tree Experts
Tree work goes wrong when it is rushed or under-equipped. We run our own 75-foot boom trucks, lift trucks, chippers and stump grinders, and every crew works under an ISA Certified Arborist — so the job gets done right the first time.
We hold California license #1002853 for both landscaping and tree and palm work, we are bonded, we carry general liability and every employee is on workers’ compensation.
ISA Certified Arborist
An arborist visits free and explains the parkway rules: city staff prune it, unless you use Pay-to-Trim with a D-49 contractor.
Licensed, Bonded & Insured
Pay-to-Trim asks for a D-49 and a state contractor's license. We hold both under #1002853, with C-27 landscaping, a bond and insurance for every worker.
Southern California Since 1985
We began in 1985, 29 years after Dairy Valley became a city. The same family still runs the business.
Our Own Equipment
Our own boom trucks, lift truck and chippers come to each job, so nothing waits on rented gear.
Reviews to read before you book in Cerritos
Every word below was written by a customer on Google, not by us. Long reviews are shortened to fit the card — never reworded. None of them was left in Cerritos: they come from customers across Southern California. Read them for how a crew behaves on a job, then decide whether that is who you want in Cerritos.
“Great pricing & service. Highly competent with tricky jobs. We have used them for more than 10 years.”
Melanie Butler
Local Guide
“We got bids from five contractors. After I talked to them all and checked out their licenses and work, we decided to go with Supreme. … The job took a day and a half, and when they were done, they left the place immaculate.”
Hank Shaeffer
“Great tree trimmers! I’ve used Supreme Tree Experts twice to trim the palm trees in my yard. … The guys who come out are quick thorough, and clean. And very careful not to damage property.”
Emilie Pacheco
“These guys have worked on my property 3 times now. They are always on time and do a fantastic job. I highly recommend them!”
Ray Thompson
“After soliciting several quotes on some difficult yard work, we chose Supreme because of their licensed Arborist Temis … The crew was extremely hard working and we couldn’t believe their continuous work ethic on one of the hottest days of the year.”
Gary Brown
Local Guide
Cerritos and the area around it
Cerritos covers 8.86 square miles of former dairy land, lined with some 30,000 street trees.
- ZIP code
- 90703