Tree Service in Lakewood, CA
Lakewood went up in about three years, with a tree planted in front of each house, and many homes are now over 70 years old. The city handles the parkway, and our Lakewood tree service trims and removes the trees on your lot.
Tree care in Lakewood
A suburb built at assembly-line speed
Lakewood is a postwar planned suburb, and it went up at record speed. In 1949, developers Louis Boyar, Mark Taper and Ben Weingart bought the old Montana Ranch, where sugar beets had grown on 2,000 acres. From 1950 to 1953, crews finished a house every 7½ minutes — 17,500 in all — along 133 miles of new streets. The plan was simple: a tree was planted in front of each home. About 30,000 people lined up on opening day. Lakewood became a city in 1954 and pioneered the "Lakewood Plan" of contracting for city services.
Lakewood started with one tree in front of every house — and the parkway tree is still the city's to trim.
Who governs tree work in Lakewood
City of Lakewood
Tree work in Lakewood follows the city's own tree rules. Parkway trees are city trees, and the city is responsible for trimming them when needed. Residents should not trim parkway trees on their own. Trimming a city tree without permission can harm the tree, affect the appearance of the neighborhood and may result in penalties. Rules change. Confirm current requirements with the jurisdiction before work begins — filing a permit is the property owner's responsibility, not ours.
What we do here
Getting to backyard trees in Lakewood: removals, pruning and stumps
Supreme Tree Experts removes, prunes and grinds stumps in Lakewood backyards, on a tract built from 1950 to 1953. Reaching a big backyard tree past the house is the hard part; Lakewood owners leave it to Supreme Tree Experts.
Tree Removal
Back-yard trees are cut in pieces and carried out along the side yard. Most homes here are two- and three-bedroom tract houses, with little room to reach the back. We plan the carry-out route before the first cut.
Tree Trimming & Pruning
Our crews prune the trees inside your lot line whenever they need it. The city trims its own parkway trees about every four years, some kinds more often. Yard trees can be pruned on the timing that suits them.
Stump Grinding & Stump Removal
Once a yard tree is down, its stump is ground below grade. That lets an older tract yard take a lawn, bed or patio again. We rake the grindings out and leave the spot level.
Palm Tree Trimming & Skinning
Brown fronds and seed clusters are cut from yard palms, and the old frond bases are peeled from the trunk. City crews handle parkway trees, not the palms in your yard. Skinning is your call, and our lift truck crew does it top to bottom.
Emergency Tree Service
Our crews answer Lakewood tree emergencies 24/7, including nights and weekends. City staff clear what wind and rain bring down on public land. A tree inside your property line is yours, so call us at any hour.
Tree Maintenance
Many homes here are more than 70 years old, and trees planted with them are large now. Big, aging trees need a regular look for weak limbs and decay. We check each one and tell you what to watch.
Tree Height Reduction
Tall back-yard trees are shortened by cutting each top back to a lower fork, never topped. Our own boom trucks reach 75 feet into a back-yard tree from the street. That keeps the crew out of tight side yards.
Estate Tree Care
Homes with several big trees get a written plan, season by season. We rank each tree by risk to the house and set work in order. Our chippers take the brush away the same day.
Tree Shaping & Shrub Shearing
Front-yard hedges and shrubs are sheared to frame the house and stay off the walk. Parkway trees are the city's, and residents may face penalties for trimming them. We shape your planting and leave the city tree alone.
Landscaping
The builders planted one tree in front of each Lakewood home. We plan the rest of the yard around that tree and the ones you add. Beds and new trees get spacing and water that suit them.
Hardscape
Patios and walks are set on a firm base, back from big roots. If a parkway tree root lifts the public sidewalk, report it to the city at 562-866-9771, extension 2140. Paving on your own lot is ours to build.
Front tree is the city's, back is yours: Lakewood's case for our crew
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
The free arborist visit sorts your trees from the city's. A parkway tree is on the city's roughly four-year trim cycle, so we leave it be.
Licensed, Bonded & Insured
Lakewood warns residents off trimming city trees; the trees on your lot deserve a proper crew too. Ours works under license #1002853 (C-61/D-49 and C-27), bonded, every worker insured.
Southern California Since 1985
Lakewood's houses went up in three years. Our family business has been at it since 1985.
Our Own Equipment
Our own boom trucks reach 75 feet into backyard trees, and our chippers leave with the brush.
From your first call in Lakewood to the final clean-up
- 01.
Front or back?
An arborist checks every tree you ask about and tells you which one out front is the city's.
- Parkway tree left to city
- Backyard access checked
- 02.
Lay out the job
You get the cuts, the order of work and how the crew gets to the back yard, in writing.
- Side-yard route planned
- No topping
- 03.
Get it done
Wood is lowered, carried out along the side-yard route and chipped at the truck; stumps you picked are ground.
- Chipped on site
- Stumps ground low
Reviews to read before you book in Lakewood
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 Lakewood: 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 Lakewood.
“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
Questions worth asking before you book in Lakewood
The 6 worth settling before tree work starts in Lakewood. If yours is not here, call 877-787-7363 and ask.
No. Parkway trees belong to the city. The strip between the sidewalk and the street holds city trees, and the city trims them. Residents should not trim them. Doing it without permission can harm the tree and may bring penalties. Report an overgrown or damaged city tree at 562-866-9771, ext. 2140.
About every four years. Some species are trimmed more often, depending on how they grow. The city contracts with a tree company for the work, and a certified arborist on Public Works staff guides it. Trees on your own lot are yours to care for on your own schedule.
Report it to the city. Tree-damaged sidewalks and curbs are on the city's list of concerns to report. Since the 1980s, every major street repair here has replaced sidewalks, curbs and gutters, along with street trees. Residents should not trim or cut city trees on their own, roots included.
Farmland: the Montana Ranch. Sugar beets grew on 2,000 acres, and the rest was alfalfa and pasture for dairy cows and sheep. The ranch offices, barn and bunkhouse stood beneath eucalyptus trees. In 1949, the last 3,385 acres were sold to the company that built Lakewood.
Yes — $600 for tree services, wherever the job is. In a tract of mostly two- and three-bedroom homes, getting a crew past the house to a backyard tree often shapes the cost.
Yes, 24/7. City staff clear what wind and rain bring down on public land; a tree on your side of the sidewalk is yours to deal with. Call 877-787-7363.
Where Lakewood sits
Lakewood spreads across 9.45 square miles of former ranch land, with Mayfair, Palms and Rynerson parks among its green spaces.
- ZIP codes
- 907129071390715