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Tree Trimming in Granite Bay

Granite Bay is on our list too. Call (530) 380-5512, and we'll find a tree pro who works the Placer side of Folsom Lake.

Granite Bay is across the lake from the El Dorado County side, in Placer County. Homes fill most of it, with Roseville next door on the west and the water on the east.

Named for a bay, built on granite

The name comes from a bay in Folsom Lake, the reservoir on the east side of town. The lake was created in 1955. The whole town also sits on granodiorite, a granite-like rock from a formation called the Penryn Pluton. So the name fits twice.

The 2020 census counted 21,247 people, with a median age of 48.8 years. Granite Bay uses two ZIP codes, 95746 and 95661. It had 7,685 housing units, and 90.1% of the occupied ones were owner-occupied.

The lake is a big part of life here. Folsom Lake stretches an estimated 4.8 miles from Granite Bay down to its most southern point.

Before the Gold Rush, this was Nisenan land. The Nisenan, also called the Southern Maidu, lived along the American, Yuba, Bear and Feather rivers.

Hot summers and the sunburn problem

Granite Bay gets hot. The climate table shows an average July high of 94 degrees and a record high of 115. That heat changes how a tree should be trimmed.

Here's the "why." Leaves shade a tree's own bark. The International Society of Arboriculture explains that when a heavy cut strips the leaves, the bare branches and trunk suddenly get hit with strong light and heat. That can sunburn the bark, and sunburn can lead to cankers, split bark and dead branches.

So in a hot place like this, over-thinning is a real risk. Ask your pro for a light touch, and keep enough leaves to shade the limbs.

Oak timing

The UC Master Gardener rule still holds here. Leaf-droppers get their cuts in winter, and evergreen oaks like interior live oak get theirs in summer. Summer cuts on live oaks should stay modest in a heat wave, for the reason above.

Interior live oak can grow to 72 feet tall, its Wikipedia article says, but in the low Sierra foothills it seldom tops 33 feet. It's often broad and shrubby. A tree shaped like that rarely needs much. Ask for cleaning and a little thinning, not a reshaping.

A different county

Granite Bay is in Placer County, not El Dorado County. So El Dorado County's oak ordinance doesn't apply here. Before a big oak job, run it by Placer County and your HOA, if there is one.

What trimming costs in Granite Bay

Thumbtack's national data puts a typical tree trimming job at $402 to $1,158. The low end it has seen is about $186 and the high end about $2,456.

Storm work is its own animal. Thumbtack says emergency tree service can cost extra, sometimes as high as $250 an hour. Getting limbs checked before winter storms can be the cheaper route.

That's a wide spread, so don't read too much into it. A pro will give you a firm number once they've seen the trees.

Granite Bay questions

Do you help with trees in Granite Bay?

We do. Call (530) 380-5512 with your street, and we'll book a tree pro who covers Granite Bay.

Why shouldn't my tree be thinned a lot in summer?

Heavy thinning lets strong sun hit bare bark. The ISA says that can cause sunburn, cankers and split bark.

Is the El Dorado County oak ordinance in force here?

No. Granite Bay is in Placer County. Check Placer County's rules and your HOA before big oak work.