Portland Maine Tree Service
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Greater Portland, Maine

Tree Removal & Tree Service in Portland, Maine

Storm-cracked pine leaning over the garage? Dead oak dropping limbs on the driveway? Overgrown lot that needs daylight? Get a free estimate from a Maine-licensed, fully insured tree crew that works Greater Portland's streets, yards, and shorelines every week.

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  • Maine-licensed arborist crew
  • Free estimates
  • Fully insured tree work
Towering mature maples and a white pine over classic white clapboard homes on a quiet Portland-area street after rain
Big old trees over beloved houses: the Greater Portland condition

What we handle

Tree Services for Greater Portland Homes & Properties

From a single storm-damaged limb to clearing a building lot, every job starts the same way: an honest look at the tree, a straight answer about what it needs (including "that tree is fine, save your money") and a free written estimate.

Why trees fail here

Maine Weather Is Hard on Trees, and Portland's Trees Are Big

Greater Portland's neighborhoods grew up under their trees. The maples, oaks, and white pines shading Deering, Munjoy Hill, and the West End were planted generations ago, and many now stand sixty to a hundred feet over houses, garages, and power lines. Big old trees are the best thing about these streets, right up until weather finds their weaknesses.

And Maine weather probes hard. Nor'easters load crowns with wet, heavy snow. Ice storms add hundreds of pounds to limbs already stretched over rooflines. Saturated spring soil loosens root plates, so summer thunderstorm gusts tip whole trees that looked perfectly healthy. White pines (everywhere in Cumberland County) grow fast, snap easily, and drop enormous limbs without much warning once they're past their prime.

That's why the honest version of tree care in Portland isn't "remove everything near the house." It's knowing which trees are genuinely dangerous, which just need weight taken off the right limbs, and which are fine for another fifty years. A licensed arborist's eye, not a chainsaw sales pitch, is the difference.

How it works

From First Call to Clean Yard

  1. Call and describe the tree

    Tell us what you're seeing: the lean, the crack, the dead crown, the project. Emergencies get flagged immediately.

  2. Free on-site estimate

    A Maine-licensed crew looks at the tree, the targets under it, and the access, then gives you a written number, free.

  3. The work, done safely

    Roped and rigged piece by piece where space is tight, dropped clean where it isn't, with real liability insurance behind every cut.

  4. Cleanup you don't think about

    Wood bucked and stacked or hauled, brush chipped, lawn raked. The only evidence left is daylight.

Two crew members in helmets and high-visibility gear feeding branches into a wood chipper on a residential street
The part you never have to think about: brush chipped as fast as the tree comes apart, and a street left cleaner than the crew found it.

Straight answers

Remove It, or Save It?

Not every scary-looking tree needs to come down, and some fine-looking trees do. A few honest rules of thumb from the crew:

  • Dead is dead. A standing dead tree near anything you value is a removal, full stop. Dead wood only gets more dangerous and more expensive to take down the longer it stands.
  • Cracks and cavities at the trunk are structural. Vertical cracks, mushroom growth at the base, or a hollow you can see into deserve a professional assessment this season.
  • A new lean is an emergency; an old lean may be fine. Trees that have always leaned grew that way. A tree that leaned this year, especially with lifted soil on the back side, is telling you its roots are letting go.
  • Big limbs over the roof are a pruning conversation, not automatically a removal. Skilled crown reduction takes the weight and the worry off while keeping the shade.
  • Topping is never the answer. Any crew that offers to "top" your tree is offering to wound it into growing back weaker. It's how you get the same call again in five years, with a worse tree.

Unsure which category your tree is in? That's exactly what a free estimate visit settles, and if the answer is "leave it alone," that's the answer you'll get. Read more about arborist assessments.

Common questions

Tree Service FAQs

How much does tree removal cost in Portland, Maine?

Most single-tree removals in Greater Portland run a few hundred dollars for small, open-access trees up to $1,500 or more for large pines and oaks. Tight quarters, dead or hazardous trees, and jobs needing a crane or extensive rigging cost more. Every job gets a free written estimate first. No surprises when the truck shows up.

Do I need a permit to take down a tree in Portland?

For most trees on your own property, no city permit is needed, but there are two big exceptions. Street trees and trees in the public right-of-way belong to the city and can't be touched without approval, and properties within 250 feet of water fall under Maine shoreland zoning, which restricts cutting. A crew that works Greater Portland every week knows exactly which rules apply to your lot before a saw comes out.

Does homeowners insurance cover tree work?

It depends on what happened. A healthy tree that a storm drops onto your house, garage, or fence is usually covered, including removal from the structure. Preventive removal of a standing tree (even a clearly dying one) usually isn't. If a tree came down in a storm, document everything with photos and keep every receipt; emergency work includes the documentation your adjuster wants to see.

What if my neighbor's tree falls on my property?

In Maine, as in most states, your own insurance generally handles damage on your property no matter whose tree fell, unless the tree was a known hazard the neighbor ignored after being notified. If you're worried about a neighbor's leaning or dying tree today, a written arborist assessment creates the paper trail that changes the liability picture.

When is the best time of year for tree work?

Removals happen year-round; winter is actually excellent because frozen ground protects lawns and gardens from equipment. Structural pruning is best in late winter dormancy, before spring growth. The one real deadline is a hazardous tree: if it's dead, cracked, or leaning over something you care about, the best time is before the next storm, not after.

Is the crew licensed and insured?

Yes, and in Maine that phrase actually means something: state law (Title 7, chapter 404) requires anyone doing arborist work for hire to hold a Maine arborist license and carry liability insurance, with a licensed arborist on the jobsite. All work arranged through this site is performed by a Maine-licensed, fully insured local crew. You can verify any arborist license on the Maine DACF public list.

Maine homeowner guides

Straight Answers About Maine Trees

The questions homeowners actually ask (storm damage, costs, neighbor disputes, permits), answered without the sales pitch.

Where we work

Serving All of Greater Portland

Based locally and serving homeowners and property managers throughout Cumberland and York counties:

  • Portland, ME
  • South Portland, ME
  • Westbrook, ME
  • Falmouth, ME
  • Cumberland, ME
  • Yarmouth, ME
  • Scarborough, ME
  • Cape Elizabeth, ME
  • Gorham, ME
  • Windham, ME
  • Saco, ME
  • Biddeford, ME

Get a straight answer about your trees

Free estimates. Honest keep-or-remove advice. A Maine-licensed, fully insured crew that treats your yard like they have to drive past it every day, because they do.

Call (207) 558-3036
  • Maine-licensed arborist crew
  • Free estimates
  • Fully insured tree work
Call (207) 558-3036 for a Free Estimate Call now: (207) 558-3036