Tree Service in Culver City, CA
Chinese elms, fan palms and jacarandas line the streets here, and most street trees belong to the city. Our tree service in Culver City trims and cares for the trees in your yard and tells you which ones the city looks after.
Tree care in Culver City
Elms, jacarandas and a creek in a channel
Most street trees in Culver City belong to the city, and the rest are up to you. Public Works looks after street trees, and the parks department looks after park trees. The city's 2012 count found 15,356 trees of 215 kinds. Chinese elms lead the list, arching over home streets, and jacarandas brighten downtown. Fan palms, Canary Island pines and big Indian laurel figs are common too. The city says its pines and magnolias show drought stress, and it has fought ficus canker. The land was once coastal prairie by Ballona Creek, which the Army Corps put in a channel in 1935.
Know your elm from your fig, and you know half the job.
Who governs tree work in Culver City
City of Culver City
Tree work in Culver City follows the City of Culver City's rules. Only the Public Works Director may cut, trim, prune, replace or remove a tree in a parkway (the strip between curb and sidewalk); anyone else needs the Director's authorization (Culver City Municipal Code 9.08.210). Neighbors may apply in writing to have a parkway tree removed, with a filing fee, but no fee is required when the tree is thought to be hazardous. Rules change. Confirm current requirements with the jurisdiction before work begins — filing a permit is the property owner's responsibility, not ours.
Source: § 9.08.210 REMOVAL OF TREES IN PARKWAYS; APPLICATION PROCEDURE; NOTICE AND APPEALS.
The work
Culver City's elms thinned, figs lowered and pines checked
Supreme Tree Experts thins elms, lowers figs and checks pines in Culver City, where Chinese elms line many streets. When a pine or magnolia thins from drought stress, Culver City owners bring it to Supreme Tree Experts.
Tree Removal
We take down dead or failing trees on Culver City lots, lowering each piece where yards are tight. Only the Public Works Director may cut or remove a parkway tree here. We tell you which trees are the city's before any work is priced.
Tree Trimming & Pruning
Our crews thin and prune yard trees, cutting long, heavy limbs back to strong unions. Chinese elm is the most common street tree in town, and many yards have one arching over the house. Thinning its crown lets wind through and lightens the branch tips.
Stump Grinding & Stump Removal
Stumps get cut down below the soil by our grinders, along with the surface roots around them. The crew rakes the chips into the hole or hauls them off, as you prefer. The spot is left ready for sod, a bed or a new tree.
Palm Tree Trimming & Skinning
Our crews clear brown fronds and fruit stalks from fan palms, then peel the old leaf bases off the trunk. Mexican fan palms rank among the most common street trees in Culver City. They hold dead bases for years, so a skinned trunk sheds far less litter.
Emergency Tree Service
When a storm snaps a limb onto your roof or drive, call us any hour, 24/7. Tall pines and big figs stand over many homes here. We cut the wood away, lower it with care and leave the site safe.
Tree Maintenance
Regular visits from our crew catch disease early on figs and other big yard trees. The city has had to fight ficus canker in its own trees. We look for cankers, dieback and dead wood, and prune out what we find.
Tree Height Reduction
We bring down oversized crowns by shortening leaders to lower forks, so the tree keeps a natural form. Indian laurel figs grow too large for most spots, and the city no longer plants them on its streets. A yard fig outgrowing its space is a common job for us.
Estate Tree Care
On lots with several large trees, we set a care plan that looks at each one in turn. The city says its Canary Island pines and southern magnolias show drought stress. We watch those two closely for thin crowns, brown needles and heavy leaf drop.
Tree Shaping & Shrub Shearing
Our crews clip hedges and round off shrubs so they sit neatly beside the house and off the walk. Most hedges look best cut lightly and often, not hard once a year. Thick, woody growth near the base gets thinned so light reaches it.
Landscaping
Planting plans from our crew use trees and shrubs sized to your lot and to long, dry summers. The city's 2012 count found 215 kinds of trees growing in town, so the choice is wide. Drip lines and mulch keep water use down.
Hardscape
Paths and patios we build leave room for the roots of the trees you keep. On its own sidewalks, the city uses rubber panels that lift out so crews can prune roots below. We use the same thinking in your yard and set paving back from big trunks.
Reviews to read before you book in Culver City
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 Culver City: 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 Culver City.
“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
Tall pines and figs over small lots: why Culver City owners call us
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
Our arborist checks each tree, names it and tells you if it belongs to Public Works or the parks department. The estimate is free.
Licensed, Bonded & Insured
The city hires arborists and contractors for its own pruning. Hire yours the same way: license #1002853 (C-61/D-49 tree service, C-27 landscaping), bonded, and insured for every worker.
Southern California Since 1985
Culver City became a city in 1917. Our business began in 1985 and is still run by the same family.
Our Own Equipment
Our own 75-foot boom trucks reach high into tall pines and figs, and our own stump grinders and chippers come too.
How tree work in Culver City runs, start to finish
- 01.
Tree by tree
An arborist names each tree, checks its health and notes if it is a city street or park tree.
- Species named
- City trees flagged
- 02.
Set the order
Trees with dead wood or heavy limbs over the house go first. Healthy trees can wait for a later visit.
- Worst risks first
- Later visits planned
- 03.
Cut and grind
The crew lowers the wood, chips it and grinds any stumps you want out.
- Chips hauled away
- Stumps ground low
Straight answers for Culver City
6 questions about tree work in Culver City, answered without the sales language. If yours is not here, call 877-787-7363 and ask.
Most likely the city's. Culver City's Public Works Department plans, funds and cares for street trees, from planting and watering to pruning. Park trees belong to the parks department. Street-tree work starts with a call to the city. The trees behind your property line are yours to care for.
Chinese elm, by a wide margin. It makes up about 14 percent of the city's street trees. Next come Indian laurel fig, Mexican fan palm, Canary Island pine, southern magnolia and jacaranda. The top ten kinds make up 59 percent of all street trees. Knowing which tree you have tells us how to prune it.
Drought stress is a common cause here. The city's own tree plan says Canary Island pines and southern magnolias are showing signs of it. Thin crowns, brown needles or heavy leaf drop are warning signs. An arborist can check the tree and tell you if pruning, water or removal makes most sense.
They grow too big for most streets. The city says Indian laurel fig is no longer a good street tree because of its size. It now uses rubber sidewalk panels that lift out so crews can prune roots under them. If a ficus in your yard is outgrowing its space, we can reduce it or take it out.
Yes — $600 for tree services, wherever the job is. Tall pines and figs over small lots take more rigging, and that shapes the price more than anything.
Yes, 24/7. Tall pines and big figs stand over many homes and drives here, and a storm can bring down a heavy limb. Call 877-787-7363.
Culver City on the map
Culver City spans about five square miles along Ballona Creek, from downtown out to Fox Hills.
- ZIP codes
- 902309023190232