Contents (Click To Jump)
- 1 What Are the Most Common Tree Issues in Ogden?
- 2 Does the City of Ogden Provide Any Assistance in Tree Removal Problems?
- 3 Who Is Responsible For Fallen Tree Removal in Ogden?
- 4 How Does the Soil Affect Trees in Ogden?
- 5 Does Weather Affect Tree Health in Ogden?
- 6 What If Dead Trees Are Near Power Lines in Ogden?
- 7 How Much Does Tree Removal Usually Cost in Ogden?
What Are the Most Common Tree Issues in Ogden?
Ogden is a city north of Salt Lake City in Utah. Yet, it is anything but your typical mountain town. The area has three world-class ski resorts that are only 20 minutes from downtown Ogden, offers an abundant amount of breathtaking recreational activities, and provides the citizens and tourists with a surprisingly energetic nightlife. However, it’s the area’s natural aspects that really make the city come to life. With its beautiful vegetation, plants, and flowers, it is no surprise that residents take every action possible to ensure that their foliage remains healthy and vibrant all year round.
Yet, before homeowners in the area can take necessary measures to keep their trees safe, they first need to learn more about the common plant tree diseases the region has to endure.
Aspen Leaf Spot
Many trees in the genus species, including Salix (willows) and Populus (aspen) trees, are often affected by the Aspen Leaf Spot disease. These spots are caused by several species of fungus and commonly affect trees in Utah. This disease typically infects trees in early spring, where the fungal spores are spread by rain and wind to emerging leaves. Once these spores take hold, small, dark brown flecks with light centers begin to develop. Eventually, these spots grow and form large dead blotches on the leaves.
Fire Blight
This is a bacterial disease that is found in the early spring. Although it does not affect a wide variety of trees, it is incredibly contagious and causes a significant degree of damage. Fire blight tends to attack all parts of the tree, including the branches, leaves, and blossoms, and gives them a dark brown appearance or a scorched, black look.
Fire blight will often spread through rain, birds, wind, and insects. However, worse yet, if these trees get infected and are not treated, they will most likely die.
Perennial Canker
Perennial canker is one of the most debilitating and common diseases of fruit and shade trees in Utah. It usually attacks apple, apricot, cherry, and peach trees, as well as broadleaf trees. This disease begins when a parasite invades the weakened and stressed trees by gaining entry through injuries in the bark caused by the sun, frost, pruning, mechanical shakers, insects, and broken branches. The canker then expands slowly over a period of months to years and may eventually girdle the branch and cause it to die.
Does the City of Ogden Provide Any Assistance in Tree Removal Problems?
In Ogden, if you have a tree within the city’s right of way, the Urban Forester must first assess the tree before you can remove it. Although the city has its own crews that plant, prune, and remove trees located on the city’s property, at times, they may issue a permit to the resident for pruning.
For these reasons, if you are considering cutting down a tree, it is in your best interest to call Parks at 801-629-8284 to get further information and confirm what needs to be done. Alternatively, our specialists can do all the hard work for you!
Who Is Responsible For Fallen Tree Removal in Ogden?
In Ogden, the property owner is often responsible for maintaining the plants, flowers, and private trees located on their property. Yet, if a property owner’s tree falls, determining responsibility for the costs associated with removing the tree may not be as clear-cut as many people expect it to be. In fact, figuring out who will have to shoulder these costs will often depend on the circumstances.
If you’re a homeowner?
In Utah, the property laws indicate that if a tree falls because of natural causes, such as a severe storm, the property owner of the place where the tree has fallen will be responsible for removing the tree. However, it is also important to note that the laws in Utah also indicate that property owners need to care for their trees and make sure that they do not prevent damage to their properties.
This means that if a property owner notices signs of tree instability, weakness, or diseases, they need to make corrections to the tree within a reasonable period of time. Otherwise, they can be held liable for the costs associated with removing the tree.
If you’re a renter?
Generally, before a renter moves into a rental property, they will enter into a property agreement with the landlord. This agreement will discuss their unique role and how they will take care of the rental property. However, if issues arise that are not mentioned in the contract, the landlord will be responsible for making the necessary repairs, while the renter will be in charge of maintaining the property. Consequently, a fallen tree will likely be outside the renter’s scope of duty.
If you’re a landlord?
As mentioned above, the landlord is usually responsible for a fallen tree on the property unless stated otherwise in the rental agreement. This means that the landlord will be accountable for the costs associated with removing the fallen tree.
If you’re a neighbor?
In Utah, if your tree falls onto your neighbor’s property because of natural causes, your neighbor will be responsible for taking care of the damages. Typically, they will need to contact their own property insurance to get reimbursed for the losses that stem from this incident.
On the other hand, if you knew that your tree was sick, weak, or damaged before it fell and you did nothing to fix it, then if it falls onto your neighbor’s property, you can be held accountable for the damages that result and the costs related to removing the fallen tree.
How Does the Soil Affect Trees in Ogden?
The Mivida soil is considered Utah’s unofficial state soil. According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Mivida soil consists of fine sandy loam (which is mostly sand, with small amounts of clay and silt) that has yellowish-red topsoil and a pinkish-brown subsoil.
This soil type covers over 200,000 acres of irrigated cropland, rangeland, wildlife habitat, and recreational land on benches in Utah. It forms in wind-deposited sheets of sand that have been eroded from Quaternary dune and Mesozoic sandstone. Its potential vegetation is mainly fourwing saltbushes, winterfat, and Indian ricegrass.
In addition, Utah also has a lot of desert soil that is of poor quality. It has high alkalinity, low organic matter, no structure, and is mostly clay. As a result, before you start planting trees in Ogden, it is essential to find tree varieties that can handle these rather difficult soil types.
Does Weather Affect Tree Health in Ogden?
Ogden is sunny 223 days out of the year, averages over 41 inches of snow, and deals with 90-degree summer temperatures. Consequently, homeowners need to plant trees that can deal with these changing climate conditions.
For instance, some of the fastest-growing shade trees in the region include:
- Red Maple
- Hybrid Poplar
- Northern Red Oak
- Sawtooth Oak
- Tulip Tree
- Japanese Zelkova
What If Dead Trees Are Near Power Lines in Ogden?
Unfortunately, trees can interfere with power lines and cause hazards and outages. Thankfully, utility companies, such as Rocky Mountain Power, have award-winning vegetation management programs that allow their professional arborists like Tree Triage to cut trees to ensure electric safety and service reliability.
Generally, these companies have pruning schedules that will depend on the tree species, growth patterns, and the voltage of nearby power lines. However, around distribution lines, which are usually found in neighborhoods, these companies provide at least 10 to 14 feet of clearance.
In addition, if there are problematic trees in the city, the company may also be responsible for tree removal. However, they will first work with neighborhoods to decide which of these trees actually need to be removed. Typically, it will come down to whether the tree is hazardous to the power lines or when pruning cannot achieve the desired safe clearance from power lines.
How Much Does Tree Removal Usually Cost in Ogden?
In Ogden, there are various factors that can affect tree removal costs, including the equipment needed to remove the tree, the area surrounding the tree, and the size of the tree that needs to be removed. However, before you spend a significant amount of money on your next tree removal project, it is in your best interest to learn more about these different cost factors. By doing so, you can be better prepared to cover the costs of the job.
The Size of the Tree
Typically, in Ogden, the tree size will be the most substantial factor when determining the overall tree removal costs. For instance, removing medium-height trees that average from 30 feet to 60 feet will cost anywhere between $150 and $850 or more, while tall trees that are typically 60 feet to 80 feet will start at $800 to remove but can reach upwards of $2,000 to cut down.
The Area Surrounding the Tree and the Terrain
Another critical aspect you need to be aware of is the area surrounding the tree and the tree’s accessibility. For example:
- If the tree is located in a place where it is difficult to access the tree
- If the tree is located next to power lines or behind a garden or fence
- If the tree is on a significant slope
These factors can cause numerous issues that will affect how our experts cut down the tree, which will increase the final cost of the removal project.
The Tree’s Overall Health
If a tree is dead, diseased, or at risk of falling over, our tree removal specialists may need to take further precautions or use special equipment to ensure that injury can be prevented when the tree is being removed. However, if this special care is required, the job’s overall costs will often increase.
