Tree trimming and pruning in the North Valleys and Stead (ZIP 89506)

The North Valleys are named in the service area on our Google listing. The ZIP has its own long-term weather station at Stead, which lets us talk about local conditions with real figures.

At a glance

• Stead station: mean temperature 51.0 F, 16.7 inches of snowfall a year
• About 30% of homes predate 1980, about 49% built since 2000
• Dead wooding for older trees, structural pruning for new ones
• About 42 miles from our yard

What does the Stead station tell us about pruning?

That this is the cool end of Reno. NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for the Stead station, at 5,101 feet, show a mean annual temperature of 51.0 degrees. Reno-Tahoe International Airport, 700 feet lower, shows 55.0. Stead averages 10.97 inches of precipitation and 16.7 inches of snowfall a year.

For pruning, a cooler site means deciduous trees stay dormant a little longer, so the late-winter window is comfortable. We set dates by what the trees are doing, not by the calendar on the wall.

How do the older and newer streets differ?

The American Community Survey puts the median home in ZIP 89506 at 1999, but that middle figure hides two groups. Roughly three homes in ten date from before 1980. Their trees are full size, carry dead wood, and overhang roofs and fences. They need crown cleaning and weight taken off long limbs.

About half the homes are from 2000 or later. Their trees are young and need structure: a single leader, well-spaced limbs, low branches removed before they block the walk. About 9% of housing here is manufactured homes, where roof and carport clearance is the usual request.

Is fire a reason to prune in the North Valleys?

On the edges, yes. Twenty-nine fire perimeters of 300 acres or more are mapped within about 10 miles of the ZIP since 1980, among them the Mitchell Canyon Fire of 1984 at 9,469 acres and the Reservoir Fire of 1999 at 6,163 acres. The USDA Forest Service has no separate record for 89506. It rates Washoe County's wildfire risk to homes higher than 97.2% of US counties.

Where a yard backs onto sagebrush, pruning means raising the lowest limbs and clearing dead wood, alongside the brush work described on our North Valleys defensible space page.

What happens on pruning day?

The crew arrives with the plan from the estimate. Climbers or the 75-foot boom truck reach the crown, branches are lowered and fed to the chipper, and the site is cleaned before the trucks leave. If the arborist finds something up in the tree that was not visible from the ground, such as a crack or a cavity, you are told before any extra work is done.

Because the drive from Carson City is close to an hour each way, it helps to list every tree you want looked at when you call. One visit can cover them all.