— Local Coverage —
A Small City With Big Old Maples
Farmington is under three square miles, and its housing tells one story: the median home here was built in 1958. The silver maples and Norway maples planted with those ranches are now 65 years old, full size, and often over the roof. Downtown's Victorian-era buildings and the Governor Warner Mansion anchor a historic district that's been protected since 1976, and the Rouge River runs through Shiawassee Park on the edge of it. Our crew works every street in the city — including the ones where apple trees from the old Glen Orchard still grow in the backyards — and we're careful around brick, pavers, and irrigation. If you're in Farmington Hills, we cover that too, with its own set of rules.
— NEIGHBORHOODS & AREAS —
— What We Do —
Services in Farmington
Tree Removal
Safe takedowns of any size — from a single dead ash to full clearing along a driveway or fence line. Every branch and log hauled, yard left spotless.
Tree Trimming & Pruning
Structural pruning, canopy thinning, deadwooding, and clearance work over roofs, driveways, and power lines. Healthier trees, cleaner curb appeal.
Stump Grinding
Below-grade grinding with chip cleanup and grade repair, so you can replant, re-sod, or forget the stump was ever there.
24/7 Storm & Emergency Work
Trees on houses, trees on cars, trees blocking the road — we respond day or night with the trucks, chippers, and skid steers to make it safe fast.
Land & Lot Clearing
Overgrown lots, buildable parcels, and property line cleanup. We drop, chip, and haul so your project can start clean.
Landscape Design & Install
After the trees come down — beds, plantings, sod, and hardscape done right by the same crew that knows your yard.
— Why Homeowners Call Us —
Local know-how in Farmington
Half the City's Trees Are Maples
Farmington's 2021 tree inventory counted about 4,000 public trees, and 53 percent of them are maples — Norway maple 22 percent, silver maple 17 percent. Nearly one in five is rated in poor condition, and more than 300 have crowns already tangled in overhead lines. The backyards look the same. When a silver maple planted in 1960 starts dropping limbs, that's usually the call we get.
A Historic District Since 1976
Downtown Farmington's Grand River corridor and the streets around it were designated a historic district in 1976. Old street trees over porches and parked cars, short setbacks, no room to swing a crane. We rig and lower piece by piece and leave the sidewalk, the fence, and the neighbor's garden alone.
Ash Is Banned From Replanting
Emerald ash borer took the city's ash a decade ago, and the ordinance now bars planting it, along with poplar, willow, and box elder near streets and sewers. The dead ash still standing on private lots fails without warning. We take it down from outside the tree.
Storms Hit Farmington Hard
The July 2021 straight-line winds that closed I-275 at Grand River left Farmington among the hardest-hit cities in metro Detroit, and DTE marked hundreds of trees for trimming or removal here afterward. The September 2026 storms took out more than 260,000 customers across the region. If a limb is hanging up in the tree or a trunk is leaning after a storm, we respond day or night.
— Local Rules —
City of Farmington Tree Rules
The City of Farmington keeps it simple for homeowners, but it does expect you to keep your trees safe — and it can make you. Here's the short version. Farmington Hills has a different ordinance; see our Farmington Hills page for that one.
No Permit for Your Own Trees
The city's vegetation ordinance (Chapter 32) applies to parks and public rights-of-way only. A homeowner maintaining an existing house needs no permit to trim or remove a tree in the yard.
Landmark Trees Only Matter for Development
Farmington's landmark tree list — 16 inches for oak, 18 for maple, hickory, and ash, 24 for anything else — comes into play only when a property goes through site plan review with the Planning Commission. Routine yard work isn't affected.
But the City Can Order Yours Down
Owners must remove dead, diseased, or dangerous trees and broken limbs that threaten the public, keep ten feet of clearance over the street, and keep sightlines open at corners. The city gives ten days' notice, then does the work and bills the property. Infected elms must come out within ten days under the Dutch elm provisions.
Street Trees Need a DPW Permit
Only the abutting owner or a licensed tree contractor may get the Department of Public Services permit to work on a right-of-way tree, and removing a healthy one means paying for a replacement. The city may require the contractor to carry $250,000 in liability insurance. Farmington DPW: (248) 473-7250.
Digging Near Public Trees
The code prohibits excavations or driveways within five feet of a public tree without a written permit, and trees within six feet of construction have to be boxed. For any stump grinding or planting, call MISS DIG at 811 three business days ahead.
DTE Trims the Main Lines, Not Your Service Drop
DTE runs a trimming program in Farmington and marks trees with a white dot to trim or a white X to remove, but it does not trim the service drop to your house — that's the homeowner's, and it's work we do every week.
Ordinances change — confirm current requirements with Farmington before planting or removing.
— Questions We Hear —
Farmington Tree Service FAQs
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Farmington?+
Can the City of Farmington make me take a tree down?+
Who is responsible for the tree between my sidewalk and the street in Farmington?+
Why do so many Farmington silver maples drop limbs?+
How much does tree removal cost in Farmington?+
— Our Process —
How a Job Goes
- ✓Free on-site estimate, usually within the week
- ✓Clear written quote — no surprise add-ons
- ✓Scheduled crew arrives in marked trucks with proper gear
- ✓Careful rigging around houses, fences, and landscaping
- ✓Every branch and log chipped or hauled off-site
- ✓Yard raked and blown clean before we leave
— Nearby Cities —
Also serving near Farmington
Don't see your city? Ask us — we travel across all of Southeast Michigan.