Tree Trimming in Logtown
Logtown, out along Highway 49, gets our help too. Phone (530) 366-5087 and we'll fetch a pruning pro to look over the oaks on your land. Small place, but it's on our map.
We find the pro and set the day. The pro does the rest.
Off the map, then back on it
Logtown, once also called Empire City, is an old mining town about 3 miles southwest of Placerville on State Route 49. It shows up in the 1850 census with 417 residents. Of those, 387 were grown men, 5 were grown women, and 25 were children.
For years mining ruled, with over a dozen mines working around town. The Pocahontas opened in 1854 and hit its peak in the mid-1870s. Once 1900 rolled around, farms and cattle gradually replaced the mines.
Later Logtown dwindled until the U.S. Geological Survey accidentally left it off the map, listing it merely as a historic site. Residents petitioned in 2018 and got their town restored. Good for them.
Oak country, not pine
How Logtown got its name nobody can say for certain. Some locals figure pine woods once stretched this far. Oaks, though, rule the area today.
That means most trimming in Logtown is oak work. The basic rule from the UC Master Gardeners holds. Oaks that drop their leaves get pruned in winter, and oaks that stay green get pruned in summer.
On older ranch land like this, the common jobs are dead limbs over fences and barns, a big limb over the drive, and oaks that need a little lifting so a truck can pass. None of that calls for a heavy hand.
When an oak looks sick
Older oaks pick up all kinds of spots, galls and bugs. Most of it isn't worth losing sleep over. The Master Gardeners say insects will generally not kill a healthy tree. They add that spraying usually isn't worth the expense and the risk.
The California oak moth is one example. Its caterpillars can strip a tree's leaves, but the tree will generally survive. Tent caterpillars are messy and unsightly but generally won't kill a tree either.
Some signs do deserve attention. Mushrooms sprouting around the base, or white fungal threads beneath the bark, may point to oak root fungus. No reasonable treatment exists, the Master Gardeners admit, and it might or might not kill the oak. Near a house, ask a pro how sound that tree still is.
Their best advice is plain. Don't panic. Oaks are tough, and few things kill them outright. A wait-and-see attitude is usually right, unless a deadly disease has been diagnosed.
Cost in Logtown
Logtown has no published prices that we've seen. Homeyou's national guide shows pruning at $248 to $548, averaging about $372, and deadwood removal at $176 to $428. A long dirt lane in might add a bit. The pruner quotes before anything gets cut.
Logtown questions
Do you cover Logtown?
Certainly. Phone (530) 366-5087 with your road, and somebody willing to drive out gets found.
Caterpillars stripped my oak. Will it die?
Probably not. The Master Gardeners say oak moth caterpillars can strip an oak but will generally not kill it.
Should I spray my oaks for bugs?
Usually not. The Master Gardeners say treatment is usually not worth the expense and risk, since insects rarely kill healthy oaks.
Nearby towns
Just north is tree trimming in El Dorado. Past that you'll come to tree trimming in Diamond Springs. Down to the southwest lies tree trimming in Latrobe. Oak owners can read oak tree pruning. Our front page is tree trimming in Shingle Springs; also see every town.