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Tree Trimming in Fair Play

Oaks over the tasting-room lot? Vines under the pines? Call (530) 248-6524 and a tree pro from nearby can walk the property. We book the visit, and the pro quotes the job.

Mining, farming, wine

Miners came first, in the 1850s. By the 1880s farms had taken over, says Wikipedia. Today the Fair Play Cemetery still takes visitors. The Fair Play AVA, a wine-growing area, was set up in 2001 and has well over twenty properties.

Aukum is 4.5 miles southwest, and Fair Play itself sits near 2,329 ft. Its post office was open from 1860 to 1944.

The wine business shapes the trees you see. Visitors drive in, park under the oaks, and walk to the tasting room. A limb that drops there isn't just a yard problem.

Oaks over parking

If you run a place people visit, look up before the summer rush. UC's oak guide warns that healthy limbs can drop without warning on hot, still days, usually level ones, 3 to 12 feet from the trunk. Big level limbs above a house, path or drive should come off, it says.

A parking spot isn't on that list, but the idea applies. Get a pro to look at the big oaks over places where people stand and park.

Cuts matter too. UC and the ISA say to cut just outside the branch collar and skip the wound paint. A good pro knows both.

Keeping oaks healthy near vines

UC's oak guide has a list of "do nots," and several matter near a vineyard.

• Skip herbicides around oaks. The guide says not to use them.
• Don't pile rocks on the roots or around the trunk, and don't fill soil up against it.
• Don't plant in an oak's root zone. If you must, pick small, drought-tolerant plants and set them far from the trunk.
• Keep string trimmers off the trunk. Wounds let rot in.

A quick note on that guide: it also says that most insects won't kill a healthy oak, so don't rush to spray.

Where pines come in

At 2,329 feet, you have more oaks than pines, but pines are in the mix. For those, remember the beetle rule: no pruning from February to mid-October, per UC. See bark beetles and drought.

And keep fire in mind. The state checklist asks for grass cut to 4 inches or less and for tree crowns spaced 10 feet apart in the outer zone.

Prices

Oak work runs $230 to $1,480 on LawnStarter. Fixr's tiers are $150 to $450 for a 20 to 30 ft tree and $150 to $800 for 30 to 50 ft. Homeyou puts one large limb at $168 to $486.

The pro quotes the real price after seeing the trees.

Old cemetery, old trees

The Fair Play Cemetery is still open, according to Wikipedia. Old cemeteries and old homesteads often have a few very big trees. If you look after one, treat it kindly. Small cuts, no topping, and no soil piled over the roots.

A big old oak can take decades to recover from a bad cut. A pro who says "less is more" is usually right.

Nearby

Close by: Omo Ranch, Somerset, Outingdale. For a yearly plan in Fair Play, open the care-by-season table. Back to the Pollock Pines home page, or see the other towns near Fair Play.