With about 30,000 trees in the inventory, there will be situations when a property owner may wish to perform minor pruning (following ANSI standards) that would fall outside the City’s standard service levels. In these cases, there is an allowance for non-substantial pruning of City trees by property owners. For these efforts, residents are encouraged to work with certified arborists (a listing of certified arborists in our area may be found here to ensure pruning is done to ANSI standards and within allowable perimeters). The definition of substantial pruning, and visual examples, is included below:

Prune substantially shall apply to both above-surface and underground cutting of a tree's structural components (i.e., roots and branches). It means removing any root or branch greater than a 1:5 ratio of the trunk's diameter, removing any branches or roots greater than 3.5" in diameter and/or removing more than twenty-five percent of the tree's total structural components.

Any branch pruned must be smaller than 3.5” in diameter (about the same size as a credit card width).

If the trunk of the tree is less than 17.5 inches in diameter at a height of 5 feet above the ground, no branch greater than 1/5 of the tree’s diameter may be removed.

Mulch provides many benefits to a tree: weed suppression, soil temperature moderation, improved soil structure, water conservation and more.  

Many trees naturally create their own mulch as their leaves fall on the ground underneath them. You may see many City trees in parks and greenbelts where Parks staff have intentionally left these leaves in place so that the tree can benefit from its own natural mulch. The City will also supplement (or sometimes replace) this leaf mulch with wood chips made from the City trees that were pruned (as explained above).

If you have a City tree on your property, consider adding some natural wood chip mulch around it. More information on mulching trees. 

All trees need water, even large established trees (typically only supplemental water is needed during extended dry periods). City trees in parks and greenbelts are watered as needed by the City. Newly planted City trees are usually watered as needed by the City or Tree Davis, the City’s partner in Urban Forestry. Property owners are required to irrigate mature City trees planted on private property (DMC 37.02.030). If you have questions or concerns about watering your young tree, please contact Urban Forestry at CityTrees@cityofdavis.org or 530-757-5633. Any tree that is not part of the watering schedule by the City/Tree Davis is the responsibility of the property owners to water. 

There are restrictions on what property owners can do to, on, or around the City trees on their property. The planting, pruning, removal or any modification of the surrounding areas around these trees, may require a permit or City review depending on the nature of the proposed work. It is the responsibility of property owners to be aware of tree-related regulations before engaging in any activity that may impact existing trees. If you have a City tree, please note that the following activities are not allowed:

• Any pruning of a City tree, even if done to make room for a private tree or to clear branches overhanging private property, except for non-substantial pruning, as described above.
• Knowingly causing or permitting any wire charged with electricity to come into contact with any City tree
• Placing, applying, attaching or keeping attached any wire, rope, sign, nail, paint or other substance or structure to any City tree including a guard or stake intended to protect the tree
• Placing or maintaining any stone, pavement or other substance so that it substantially impedes the free access of water or air to the roots of any City tree
• Cutting or damaging of root(s) as to cause the City tree’s health to decline or cause a safety hazard
• Any other activity that can cause damage to the City tree 
• Placing fencing around a City tree
• Grading around the trunk or within the tree protection zone of a City tree
• Altering the landscaping or grade of the property including trenching, in a manner that could damage, or potentially and adversely affect the well-being of a City tree

Links for more information on the care of City trees, along with the process to request modification permits or removals, are included below.

• Caring for Trees
• Tree Removal and Modification Requests