Most trees benefit from pruning and mulching and all trees need water. Here’s what they need and what you need to know if you have a City Street tree on your property.

City Tree Pruning Cycle

The City of Davis strives to provide regular proactive pruning for City trees. Proactive maintenance pruning removes dead, damaged, and diseased branches, provides structural pruning, and reduces branch end weights. Proactive pruning helps to maintain trees in a healthy condition and reduces the likelihood of branch or tree failures. In Davis, City trees are proactively pruned on a 7-year cycle. The pruning route map shows the pruning blocks for the city. The City of Davis strives to keep the pruning route schedule, but resource impacts (including, but not limited to weather, disease outbreak and pest events) may cause delays in this cycle. The pruning route blocks are pruned on a fiscal year cycle and currently scheduled as follows:

• PR-1 FY 22/23
• PR-2 FY 23/24
• PR-3 FY 24/25
• PR-4 FY 25/26
• PR-5 FY 26/27
• PR-6 FY 27/28
• PR-7 FY 28/29

To view a larger version of the route map click on the link below.

 Tree Pruning Route Map

Care of City Trees on Private Property

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
• 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

Mulching

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 Street tree on your property, consider adding some natural wood chip mulch around it. More information on mulching trees. 

Watering

All trees need water, even large established trees. City trees in parks and greenbelts are watered as needed by the City. Newly planted street 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.