Tree Service in Van, TX

Tree Service in Van has a different focus than in most towns around Tyler, because so many of Van's trees are young. On the evening of May 10, 2015, shortly after sunset, an EF3 tornado went straight into the heart of this Van Zandt County town of about 2,600 people. It killed two, injured 47, destroyed the elementary school and damaged or destroyed many homes, while downing trees and power lines and toppling an oil pump derrick and a high-tension tower before dissipating 3.5 miles north of town. Much of what was planted in the rebuilding is now about ten years old, which is exactly the age when a tree's future structure is decided.

Why young trees need pruning

A tree planted in 2016 or 2017 is now tall enough to be shaping its permanent framework. If it is left alone, many shade trees develop two or three competing main trunks, tight V-shaped forks with bark trapped inside, and limbs that crowd one side. Those are the weak points that split in the next big storm. Structural pruning at this stage is quick, inexpensive and does far more good than major surgery on the same tree in twenty years. We:

• Pick one dominant central leader and shorten the competing ones
• Remove or reduce branches with included bark in tight forks
• Space main limbs along the trunk instead of in one whorl
• Raise low limbs gradually for clearance over walks and drives
• Take out crossing and rubbing branches

The survivors

Trees that came through the 2015 tornado still standing may carry hidden damage: cracked limbs, twisted trunks, or roots that were loosened and never fully re-anchored. Ten years on, decay from those injuries can be well along inside. If you have a large older tree that was in the path, a closer look is worthwhile.

Oil field town

Van's growth started on October 13, 1929, when the Jarman No. 1 well came in from the Woodbine Formation at 2,710 feet, and thirty buildings went up in about ten days. The Van field had produced 502 million barrels by 1994. Pump jacks, lease roads and pipelines are still part of the landscape on rural properties here, so we always ask about buried lines before grinding stumps on acreage outside town.

Getting around town

Van covers about 3 square miles, with Interstate 20 just south of downtown and Maple Street (Highway 110), Main Street (FM 16), Oak Street (FM 314) and FM 1805 serving the city. It sits about 26 miles northwest of Tyler, and the 2015 tornado was rated by the National Weather Service office in Fort Worth rather than the Shreveport office that covers Tyler.

Call (903) 636-8096 to set up a visit, whether the tree is a ten-year-old red maple or a hundred-year-old post oak. You will get a written estimate. Get a free estimate