Tree Service Kirkwood MO
In Kirkwood, a tree in the street right-of-way is a city tree, and removing one takes a permit from the Urban Forester. A tree on your own lot usually does not. Thompson Tree Care and Landscaping quotes private-lot tree work free of charge.
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Whose Tree Is It, and Who Do You Call First in Kirkwood?
Work out who owns the tree before you call anyone. The City of Kirkwood treats its right-of-way, which typically takes in the roadway and the sidewalks, as city property, and the trees inside it are city trees. The property corner markers near the street show where the right-of-way ends and your lot begins.
If the tree is on the city side, call the Kirkwood Forestry Division at 314-984-5907. It inspects right-of-way trees, and the city takes down about 125 a year for poor health, decline or hazard. If the tree is on your side, it is yours, and Thompson Tree Care and Landscaping can quote tree removal or trimming and pruning.
Who Trims Trees Near Power Lines in Kirkwood?
Usually Kirkwood Electric, not Ameren. Kirkwood runs its own sanitation, water and electric utilities, which the city calls unique among St. Louis County municipalities, and its electric utility covers about two-thirds of the city. Kirkwood Electric keeps its lines clear of trees likely to cause an outage. That includes trees behind or beside a house that sit in the electric utility easement. It takes line clearance requests through a form on its website.
Limbs over your roof are private tree work. So is a cracked fork in an oak worth keeping, where cabling and bracing may help, and the stump left after a removal, which stump grinding takes below grade.
Since 2018 the city has pruned its own street trees on an eight-year cycle. Rules change at the city limit. Webster Groves requires a Public Works permit for any contractor work on a right-of-way tree, and Des Peres has its own code.
Last Updated: November 2026
What Makes Tree Work in Kirkwood Different?
Old lots, old trees, and a Tree Code the city amended in April 2026.
Which Kirkwood neighborhoods have the biggest trees?
Look to the oldest neighborhoods. Kirkwood was established in 1853 along the route of the new Pacific Railroad as the first planned residential commuter suburb west of the Mississippi, and the 1893 train station still stands in the heart of the city. The city has nine local historic districts. Jefferson-Argonne, North Taylor and West Argonne date from the 1850s onward, and Meramec Highlands from about 1892. Craig Woods, Barrett Brae and Sugar Creek Ranch are mid-1950s subdivisions. Add the streets around Kirkwood Park and the 112 acres of oak-hickory forest at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center on Cragwold Road, all in the 63122 zip code.
Which Kirkwood trees cause the most trouble?
Kirkwood's own Tree Manual names them. Ash, sweetgum, silver maple and crabapple are on its Do Not Plant list for abundance, nuisance, disease or poor success as urban trees. Callery pear, including Bradford pear, tree of heaven and Siberian elm are prohibited in the right-of-way outright. Emerald ash borer had reached 100 Missouri counties and the City of St. Louis by the end of 2021, so a dead ash near a house is a removal, not a wait-and-see. Read whether to treat or remove an ash before you decide. On pin oak, the Missouri Botanical Garden notes that chlorosis, a yellowing of the leaves, is common in alkaline soil and can severely damage the tree.
How do storms hit Kirkwood trees?
Straight-line wind does the most damage. On July 19, 2006, the National Weather Service recorded damage across the St. Louis area consistent with 70 to 80 mph winds, and more than 500,000 customers lost power. Under Kirkwood's Storm Debris Removal Policy the Street Department clears the roadway, but disposal of debris from a private tree stays with the owner. Thompson Tree Care offers storm damage tree removal and 24/7 emergency tree service for trees that are cracked, leaning, or already on the house.
Do you need a permit for tree removal in Kirkwood?
For one tree on your own lot, usually no. For a street tree, yes. As of October 2026, Chapter 24 of the Kirkwood code requires a permit to remove from the Urban Forester for any public tree in the right-of-way. On private property the code now requires a Tree Clearing Permit for a clearcut, meaning 4,500 square feet or more of canopy removed from one parcel within 24 months, and a tree protection plan for new construction and demolition. Kirkwood is a Tree City USA community. Confirm your case with the Forestry Division at 314-984-5907. The St. Louis tree removal permit guide covers the county-wide picture.
“Jodi and his crew took down 3 large trees at our home. They treated our property with respect and left our yard looking like they were never there. This company has all the equipment necessary to safely remove large trees that are close to houses.”
“We had Thompson Tree Care remove two large trees, both in kind of tight places between electric lines, fences, and a deck. I was amazed by how precisely they were able to climb and take the tree down branch by branch.”
Need a Tree Removed in Kirkwood?
The page on tree removal in Kirkwood, MO covers the permit side step by step: how a right-of-way removal request moves from the Urban Forester to the Urban Forestry Commission, when two or three big trees add up to a clearcut, what the Tree Clearing Permit costs, and what the code means by a Heritage Tree.
Kirkwood Tree Service FAQ
Kirkwood Electric does, if your home is in its service area. The city says street trees under the lines are managed jointly by Kirkwood Electric and the Forestry Division, and trees inside the electric utility easement behind or beside a house are maintained by Kirkwood Electric. If your bill comes from Ameren Missouri instead, call Ameren.
Only when the city activates its Storm Debris Removal Policy and announces it. Then storm-damaged limbs over two inches thick may be cut and stacked behind the curb, never in the street. Smaller pieces go out in Kirkwood Yard Waste bags or stickered twine bundles. A contractor you hire has to haul what it cuts.
Seven feet over the sidewalk, 12 feet at the curb line and 15 feet over the centerline of the road, according to the Forestry Division. That clearance pruning falls to the property owner for private and public trees alike, and it needs no permit. Anything more on a city tree needs a permit to maintain.
Any Significant Tree 18 inches or more in trunk diameter, or a smaller one the Urban Forester finds to be of exceptional quality or historic significance. Ordinance 10942 added the category in April 2026. It carries a $1,000 fee in a Tree Clearing Permit.