Tree Surgeon Sligo

Tree surgeons for Sligo's coast, town and countryside

Trees in Sligo have a harder life than most. They take the full force of Atlantic storms, salt spray along the coast and wet, windy winters on the slopes under Benbulben, Knocknarea and the Ox Mountains. That shows up in the work we get asked to do: wind-damaged and leaning trees, tall shelter belts that have become a worry, coastal hedges scorched by salt, and big old trees in Sligo Town gardens that have outgrown their space.

5 County Tree Surgeons covers the whole county for tree removal, pruning and crown reduction, stump grinding, hedge cutting and storm clean-up. We assess each tree with the local conditions in mind, because a reduction that suits a sheltered garden in Collooney could do more harm than good on an exposed site in Strandhill. You get a clear quote that sets out the work, the timber and the clean-up.

• Licensed and fully insured
• Free quotes from photos for straightforward jobs
• Storm damage made safe as a priority
• Happy to work with holiday home owners who are not on site

Coastal trees: salt, wind and shelter belts

From Enniscrone and Easkey round to Strandhill, Rosses Point, Mullaghmore and Cliffoney, coastal properties rely on trees and hedges for shelter. Those same trees take a constant battering. You can see it in the way they lean inland, with growth on the seaward side stunted and browned by salt.

Monterey cypress and Monterey pine were planted all along this coast as fast-growing windbreaks. Many are now very large, top-heavy and prone to shedding big limbs or failing at the base in storms. Older sycamore shelter belts have similar problems as they age. If those trees are within reach of a house, a road or a caravan park, they need regular checks.

Exposed trees need a different approach from sheltered ones. Heavy thinning lets wind through the canopy in a way the tree is not used to, and removing every other tree in a shelter belt can leave the remaining ones far more likely to blow over. On coastal sites, we usually favour careful reductions that lower the wind load, and staged removal and replanting over several years, so you keep shelter while the problem trees are dealt with. For replacement hedging, salt-tolerant plants such as escallonia, griselinia and fuchsia do well on this coast.

Steep sites, narrow lanes and forestry next to homes

Plenty of Sligo homes are built into slopes under Knocknarea, Benbulben and the Ox Mountains, or at the end of long, narrow lanes. Steep ground changes how trees are taken down, because timber can slide or roll once it is cut, and machinery may not be able to get close. On these sites, we often dismantle trees in smaller sections and lower them on ropes, even where a tree could in theory be felled whole.

Many rural houses also sit right beside conifer plantations. Spruce on wet, peaty upland soils roots shallowly, and the edge trees of a plantation take the full force of the wind. When a plantation edge starts dropping trees towards a house, the plantation owner usually needs to be involved, and felling may need a licence. If the trees are yours, or the owner agrees, we can remove or reduce the trees nearest to your property.

Wet upland ground is also soft for much of the year, so tell us about steep drives, soft patches and how far timber would have to be moved when you ask for a quote.

How much does tree work cost in Sligo?

The price comes down to the time and risk involved, not just the size of the tree. A large tree on flat, open ground can be quicker to deal with than a smaller one on a steep bank above a house or in a cramped town garden.

• Size, condition and lean of the tree
• Slope, ground conditions and access for machinery
• Buildings, cables or roads within reach
• Storm damage, which can leave a tree under tension and slower to work on
• Whether timber and brash are removed or left
• Whether stumps are ground out

If you have several trees, or a tree plus a hedge, pricing them together on one visit is usually better value.