Tree Service in Apison, TN

Tree Service in Apison usually involves more acreage and more trees than in the suburbs closer to Chattanooga. Apison is a rural Census-designated place in eastern Hamilton County, near Ooltewah, Collegedale and the Georgia line. It covers about 16 square miles but had only 4,428 residents at the 2020 Census, roughly 274 people per square mile. Homes sit on large lots, along tree lines and at the edge of woods and fields.

The 2011 tornado

Apison was hit hard on April 27, 2011. The long-track EF4 tornado that started in Catoosa County, Georgia, and passed through Ringgold reached high-end EF4 strength in Apison, leveling or sweeping away large homes and damaging about 150 others before continuing toward Cleveland. Eight of the people killed in the Chattanooga area that day were in Apison. Much of the community rebuilt, and the trees around those homes include survivors, regrowth and new plantings.

What to watch for in storm-survivor trees

Trees that came through a tornado often carry damage that is easy to miss. Look for:

• Trunks that were twisted, leaving long spiral cracks in the bark
• Tops that broke and regrew as several weak, upright shoots
• Roots loosened on one side, showing as a lean or heaved soil
• Dead wood in the upper crown from limbs that were damaged and never recovered

Trees with these defects can stand for years and then fail in an ordinary storm.

Rural tree work

On larger properties, the work is often broader than one or two trees:

• Clearing trees for a new house, barn, shop or pasture
• Removing trees from fence lines and along drives
• Cutting back limbs from outbuildings and power service lines
• Taking down dead trees in woodlots near the house
• Stump grinding so fields and lawns can be mowed
• Storm cleanup when trees fall across drives, fences or fields

Shale ground

Apison takes its name from the Apison shale found along the railroad tracks when the line came through in 1881. Shale-based soils can be shallow and drain differently from the deeper valley soils, which affects how deep trees root. On thin soil, wind-throw is a bigger risk than trunk breakage, so we pay attention to root plates and leaning trees.

Woodlots near the house

Many Apison homes sit at the edge of woodlots. Trees at the woods' edge grow toward the open sky over the yard and lean heavily that way. Over time, the weight shifts toward the house. Removing or reducing the worst leaners along the edge, and leaving the sound trees behind them, keeps the buffer of woods without the risk.

Getting an estimate

Call (423) 206-3918 or use the form and tell us roughly how many trees and how much ground is involved. We will walk the property with you and give you a written estimate. Get a free estimate