Professional Tree Services in Burlington, VT
ISA Certified Arborists Trusted Across the Queen City
Burlington's Urban Canopy Specialists
Caring for trees in Burlington is not the same as caring for trees out in the country. Heat, compacted soils, limited root space, mechanical injuries, buildings, parked cars, traffic, pedestrians, and more all factor into every job. It takes the right equipment, the right training, and crews who know how to operate in tight quarters with no margin for error. For more than 20 years, Burlington homeowners have turned to Teachers Tree Service to get that work done well, safely, and without surprises.
Our Burlington Tree Care Services
From a single mature shade tree in your backyard to a full block of street trees fronting a commercial property, here's what our crews handle in Burlington:
Tree Pruning & Trimming
Whether you're shaping a young tree, restoring a mature one, or working around a building, we approach pruning as a precision service. Every cut is intentional — informed by tree biology, your goals for the tree, and the property around it.
Tree Removal
Burlington removals often come with audiences — neighbors, traffic, and the building next door. Our crews handle technical takedowns with the right combination of climbing skill, rigging, bucket trucks, and crane support to keep everyone and everything safe.
Emergency Tree Service
Storms don't wait for business hours, and neither do we. When a tree comes down on a house, a car, or across a road, we mobilize quickly and triage by what's most urgent.
Insect & Disease Treatment
Emerald ash borer is the headline threat in Burlington right now, but it's not the only one. We test, scout, and monitor for the pests and pathogens active in our region — and treat only when there's a tree-by-tree case for it.
Fertilization
City soils tend to be compacted, depleted, and starved of the organic matter trees rely on. Our root-zone fertilization programs address those deficiencies directly, using formulations matched to your tree's species and conditions.
Tree Preservation
A tree showing decline isn't always a tree that needs to come down. We use cabling, bracing, root collar excavation, growth regulators, and targeted PHC to extend the life of trees that are still worth saving.
Tree Planting
A well-chosen, well-planted tree can be one of the best investments you'll ever make in your property. We help you pick species suited to Burlington's soils, climate, and your specific site — then plant them so they're set up to thrive for decades.
Soil & Root Zone Management
The roots are usually where urban tree problems start. Air spading, decompaction, root collar excavation, and soil amendments can revive struggling trees that would otherwise be on a path to decline.
Habitat Enhancement
Even small urban properties can play a role in supporting wildlife. We can preserve standing dead wood where it's safe, retain habitat features during pruning, and shape your landscape so it works for birds, pollinators, and other creatures.
Woodlot Management
Got acreage outside the city? We develop multi-year management plans that account for tree health, wildlife habitat, recreation, views, and how the land actually gets used.
Let's Talk About Your Burlington Trees
If your trees need care — now or as part of a longer-term plan — we're ready to help. We'll meet you on-site, listen to what you want for your property, and put together a written proposal you can review on your own time.
What Makes the Queen City Special
It's hard to be brief when discussing Burlington — there's just too much to say about the Queen City. It's the smallest "largest city in a state" in the country, with around 45,000 residents balanced between Lake Champlain to the west and the Green Mountains to the east. It's also a vacation destination, a hub for music and food and art, and home to neighborhoods that have been experimenting with sustainability and social equity for decades.
Many of our team members live here, and several are graduates of UVM's Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources — which means working in Burlington isn't just a job for us. It's where we live, eat, walk, ride, and raise families. A few Burlington spots we love most:
Burlington Parks: From Oakledge to Battery and Ethan Allen, the city's parks system is a tour through some of the finest urban tree canopy in Vermont.
Intervale Center: A network of farms, trails, and conservation land along the Winooski River — a working example of urban agriculture and floodplain stewardship.
Church Street Marketplace: Burlington's open-air pedestrian mall, with four blocks of locally owned shops, restaurants, street performers, and seasonal events.
Burlington Wildways: A network of urban natural areas and trails connecting the city's wild spaces.
ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain: A waterfront science and nature museum focused on the Champlain Basin's ecology.
City Market: The community-owned grocery cooperative with two locations — a daily destination for local food, Vermont-made goods, and well-stocked pantry staples.
Burlington Farmers Market: A Saturday gathering of Vermont farmers, food makers, and artisans in City Hall Park, running from spring through fall (with a smaller winter market).
Local Motion: The bike, pedestrian, and car-free transit advocacy organization keeping Burlington walkable and rideable.
Local Tree Care Considerations in Burlington
A handful of Burlington-specific factors that shape how — and when — to take care of your trees include:
Every Ash Tree in Burlington Is Now a Treat-or-Remove Decision: EAB was confirmed in the city in 2024, and the first wave of dieback is expected between 2027 and 2029. Trunk injection treatment, applied every two years, prevents the damage — but only on trees that haven't yet started to decline.
The City of Burlington Regulates Work on Public Trees: Unlike many Vermont towns, Burlington has Chapter 29 of its Code of Ordinances governing public trees and rights-of-way. The City Arborist's office must approve work on city trees, and homeowners may have responsibilities for trees in the strip between sidewalk and street. When in doubt, ask before you cut.
Urban Stress Shortens Tree Lives: Compacted soil, road salt, restricted root space, mechanical damage from cars and equipment, and reflected heat from pavement all take a toll on Burlington's trees. Regular plant health care isn't optional here — it's the difference between a 50-year tree and a 150-year tree.
Power-Line Work Requires a Line-Clearance Arborist: Burlington Electric Department and Green Mountain Power handle vegetation management for primary lines in the city. Anything else near energized lines — including secondary service drops to your home — needs a line-clearance qualified crew.
State Law Requires Utility Marking Before Excavation: DigSafe covers stump grinding, planting, and any other digging. Call 811 at least 72 hours before work begins.
Why Burlington Residents Call Teachers Tree Service
Burlington isn't short on tree care companies. Here's why ours stands out:
Built for Urban Tree Work: From cranes and remote-controlled grapple saws to skilled climbers, we have the equipment and expertise to handle technical jobs in tight quarters — buildings, cars, traffic, pedestrians, and minimal margin for error.
Trusted by the City Arborist: We work alongside Burlington's City Arborist, V.J. Comai, and his staff — including treating 15 city-owned ash trees with EAB protection that residents are funding.
A Reputation Built on Long-Term Thinking: Seven Days recently profiled how we work with homeowners on healthy arboreal landscapes, not just one-time fixes.
A Team Grounded in Urban Forestry and Ecology: 8 of our staff are ISA Certified Arborists, with academic backgrounds spanning forest ecology, plant pathology, and ecological restoration. That depth shapes how we approach every property — from species selection and soil management to long-term care.
Straight Answers, Not Sales Pitches: If a tree can be saved, we'll tell you. If it can't, we'll tell you that, too. The recommendation you get from us is the same one we'd act on if it were our own property.
A Part of the City for Two Decades and Counting: You'll find Teachers Tree Service crew members shopping at City Market, biking the Greenway, and walking their kids to school across the city. Some of the clients we serve here have worked with us since Greg Ranallo started the company in 2003.
Our Burlington Coverage Area
You'll find Teachers Tree Service trucks throughout the city — climbing in mature maples on Hill Section, working on ash trees along North Avenue, or taking down a hazard tree behind a South End townhouse. Burlington is a daily destination for our crews, so odds are one of our trucks is somewhere in the city when you call.
If your neighborhood isn't listed, give us a ring at (802) 316-1545 — chances are we cover you.
What to Expect When You Work with Teachers Tree Service
Working with a tree company shouldn’t feel complicated or uncertain. Here’s what the process looks like when you work with Teachers Tree Service:
Reach Out
Call or submit a request online to get the process started — we’ll take it from there.
On-Site Visit
An arborist meets you at your property, evaluates your trees, and talks through your priorities.
Clear, Itemized Proposal
You’ll receive a detailed proposal outlining recommendations, reasoning, and cost.
Scheduling & Professional Work
Once approved, we schedule around the right timing for your trees. Our crew shows up on time, works safely, and leaves your property clean.
Follow-Up & Ongoing Care
We check in after the work is complete to make sure everything meets expectations and your trees are set up to thrive.
Invest in Burlington's Canopy, Starting with Your Property
Mature urban trees are some of the most valuable features any Burlington property has — for shade, property value, the city's character, and the next generation. Caring for them well means working with arborists who understand both the trees and the city they live in. We'd love to help.
