Tree Service in Arden Hills, MN

Tree Service in Arden Hills works within one of the more detailed ash plans in the north metro. The city adopted its Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan in April 2022. It reports that about 12.3% of the city's urban forest is ash, based on a 2010 Minnesota DNR survey, and that the first EAB detection in Arden Hills was likely in 2014, five years after the beetle turned up in nearby Saint Paul and Falcon Heights. The plan states plainly that once EAB takes hold of a tree, the tree will die. So for each ash on your lot, the question is whether to protect it or plan its removal.

What the city does with its own ash

Arden Hills treats public ash at least 8 inches in diameter and in fair or better health with trunk injections every two years. Poor-health public ash are removed without much rescue pruning, and every removed tree is replaced. The city also plants Buddy Trees next to declining ash so new canopy is growing before the old tree is cut. Removals are scheduled for fall, because adult beetles emerge and spread from May through July. That is a sensible model for private yards too.

Rules that affect private treatment

If you want to keep an ash, the plan allows homeowners to treat it through a qualified treatment contractor who follows city standards for protecting surface water and groundwater. Private chemical treatment must be trunk injection only; the city strongly discourages soil drench insecticides because of the risk to water and wildlife. That matters in a city where about 12% of the area is water. The city's tree and vegetation ordinance also lists ash among diseased trees that must be removed, and allows the city to inspect private property and order removals.

Owner responsibility at the road

Arden Hills amended its code in 2011 to clarify that owners are responsible for right-of-way trees next to city roads. That is different from Saint Paul and some other nearby cities, where the city owns boulevard trees. Before you assume the tree by the street is the city's job, check with the city. In many cases it is yours.

Lakes and wooded lots

Water makes up nearly 12% of Arden Hills. Wooded lots and shoreline parcels mean a lot of oak, basswood and pine, along with ash. On those properties we plan wood landing zones away from the water, keep machinery off soft ground and schedule oak work for the dormant season to avoid oak wilt.

How we can help

• Assess whether each ash is worth treating, using the city's size and health standards as a guide
• Remove declining ash in the fall, when beetle activity is lowest
• Prune oaks in winter
• Grind stumps and prepare the spot for a replacement tree
• Clean up after storms

Call (651) 374-8562 for a walk-through and written estimate. Get a free estimate