Tree Service Ballwin MO
Ballwin bars ash, silver maple, pin oak and Bradford pear from its right-of-way. About half the city’s homes went up in the 1960s and 1970s, and those are the species to check first in a yard that age.
- Licensed & Insured
- 24/7 Emergency
- Free Estimates
Which Trees Are Failing in Ballwin, and Why Does the City Ban Them?
Ash, silver maple, Bradford pear and pin oak are the four to watch, and the City of Ballwin lists all four as trees not allowed in its right-of-way.
Ash is the clearest case. The city says emerald ash borer “came home to Ballwin” in 2015, when it had more than 2,000 ash trees in the public right-of-way. Ballwin bought a bucket truck and set up its own crew to take down every city ash. That program stops at the property line.
Ash
Missouri Botanical Garden’s guidance: treatment works best while less than half the canopy is damaged. Past that, plan on removal. See our treat-or-remove guide.
Silver maple
Once popular for lawns and streets, the Garden says, and out of favor because its weak-wooded limbs split in high wind or under ice.
Bradford pear
Prone to splitting in wind, snow or ice, and best treated as a short-lived tree that may need replacing in 15 to 20 years.
Pin oak
Leaves that yellow between green veins point to iron chlorosis, common on pin oak in alkaline soil. Read pin oak yellow leaves before deciding the tree is dying.
How Old Are Ballwin’s Subdivisions, and What Are the Lots Like?
About half of Ballwin’s homes were built in the 1960s and 1970s, and the Census Bureau’s latest five-year survey puts the median year built at 1976. A shade tree planted with one of those houses is roughly 45 to 65 years old today.
Claymont, the largest subdivision, dates from 1960: 665 homes on 310 acres near the Ballwin Golf Course. Castle Pines, Country Creek, Danbury, Fox Creek, Oakleigh Woods, Westglen Woods and Woodsmill are among the others. Subdivision indentures can restrict removals even where the city does not.
Most of Ballwin’s single-family zoning districts set minimum lots of 10,000 to 20,000 square feet, so most trees have to be climbed and lowered in sections. The ground falls from about 750 feet near Clayton and Kehrs Mill roads to 482 feet on Kiefer Creek. Along Fishpot, Grand Glaize and Kiefer creeks, a city ordinance protects a 25 to 50 foot vegetated buffer when land is developed, so ask before clearing a bank.
The city standard for a tree lawn is five feet between curb and sidewalk, and its comprehensive plan concedes many are narrower. Plan stump grinding there around the concrete on both sides.
The rules change at the city limits. Ellisville on one side and Manchester on the other each have their own code and crews.
Who Owns the Tree by the Street in Ballwin, and What Needs a Permit?
Any tree standing wholly or partly in the city right-of-way is a street tree under Section 29-1 of Ballwin’s code, and removing one without a street tree removal permit from Public Works is unlawful. That is the code as of October 2026. Confirm with Public Works at (636) 227-9000 before you cut.
- Street trees: the city plants, prunes and removes trees between the pavement and the sidewalk, or within 12 feet of the pavement where there is no sidewalk, as resources permit.
- What you may do: prune a street tree for clearance or to remove dead or diseased limbs. Topping one is prohibited.
- Clearance: limbs must be 14 feet above the street and 8 feet above the sidewalk. Fines for nuisance vegetation start at $250.
- Trees on your own lot: city crews do not work on private property. We found no permit requirement in Chapter 29 for a tree standing entirely on a home lot.
Thompson Tree Care and Landscaping can supply a written estimate and proof of insurance for a permit or trustee request.
Who Trims Trees Near Ameren Lines in Ballwin?
Ameren Missouri is Ballwin’s electric utility, and it trims only in its own rights-of-way and easements. The line from the pole to your house, the service drop, is the property owner’s responsibility. Ameren will disconnect a service drop by appointment so a tree can be trimmed safely.
Section 24-79 of Ballwin’s code lets a utility trim trees that overhang the right-of-way on ten days’ written notice and under city supervision, but not trees on private property without the owner’s permission. For limbs near a service drop but not on it, trimming and pruning is the usual fix.
What Will Ballwin and Republic Services Haul After a Trim or a Storm?
Republic Services, the city’s contracted hauler, takes limbs with weekly yard waste only if they are under six inches thick and tied with twine in bundles no bigger than four feet long, 24 inches across and 75 pounds. Thicker wood counts as bulky trash. Republic: (636) 947-5959.
City crews vacuum leaves at the curb, ward by ward, about every three weeks from late October into December. That service is for leaves only.
When the city decides there has been major storm damage to trees, it activates a Storm Damage Assistance program. On December 31, 2010, a tornado the National Weather Service rated EF1 touched down just northwest of Manchester Road and Birchwood Drive, crossed Kehrs Mill Road and the east side of the Ballwin Golf Course, then Holloway and Baxter roads. Along 1.76 miles it snapped and uprooted trees.
Trunks and anything on a roof are beyond the hauler. That is storm damage tree removal, and Thompson Tree Care answers its emergency line 24/7 at (314) 712-3035.
Last Updated: October 2026
Street Trees, Ash and Brush: Ballwin Questions
No. Section 29-1 of Ballwin’s code treats any tree standing wholly or partly in the city right-of-way as a street tree, and removing one needs a street tree removal permit from Public Works. To have the city look at it, call (636) 227-9000.
The city’s ash program covers only the trees it owns in the right-of-way, and its crews do not work on private property. A yard ash is yours to treat or remove.
Both are on the city’s list of trees not allowed in the right-of-way. The city’s cost-share program pays back up to $100 for planting an approved species.
No. The city says leaf piles containing sticks, logs or root balls will not be collected. Bundle branches for Republic Services yard waste instead.