Twenty years of regrowth between the canals
Tree Service in Lakeview, LA
The trees planted after Katrina are now big enough to need real care.
- Free estimates, in person, for homes in New Orleans and nearby towns
- Itemized written price before any cutting
- Logs left or hauled, your call, agreed up front
A Neighborhood Whose Trees Are Mostly Young
Tree Service in Lakeview looks different from tree work in the older parts of New Orleans because most of the canopy here is new. When a section of the 17th Street Canal floodwall collapsed on August 29, 2005, water filled large parts of the neighborhood within minutes, reaching as much as 14 feet in some areas. Near the breach, it uprooted trees outright. The houses that replaced the gutted bungalows went up with fresh landscaping, and those trees are now roughly two decades old.
Why twenty-year-old trees need attention now
A tree planted as a 15-gallon sapling in 2007 has spent its early life putting on height fast. Without early pruning, many have developed: 1. Two or three competing main stems with bark pinched between them, a common weak point in storms 2. Limbs headed straight for second-story windows and roof valleys 3. Crowns so dense that wind loads them like a sail 4. Root flares buried under mulch or new fill This is the stage where structural pruning pays off most. Choosing one leader, shortening competing stems and spacing out main limbs now is cheaper and kinder to the tree than heavy cuts in another ten years.
Bigger houses, smaller yards
Lakeview began as a mostly middle-class area of post-war bungalows. Through the later 20th century and after the storm, many of those were replaced with larger homes on the same lots. Bigger footprints leave less room for roots and canopy. When we look at a Lakeview yard, we pay attention to how close the trunk is to the slab or piers, whether a driveway was poured over roots, and how much clearance a tree has to the house wall.
Next to the biggest live oak collection anywhere
City Park, on Lakeview's eastern side, has what it describes as the world's largest collection of mature live oaks, some more than 600 years old. It also shows what storms do: accounts on record put the park's Katrina losses at roughly 1,000 to 2,000 trees. One of the two original Dueling Oaks had already been lost to a 1949 hurricane. Big oaks are resilient, but not invulnerable, and the ones in private Lakeview yards deserve the same regular inspection.
Picking replacement trees
When a tree has to come out, homeowners often ask what to plant. The city's planting list for public ground includes live oak, bald cypress, Shumard and Nuttall oaks, sweetbay and Little Gem magnolias, and several crape myrtle varieties, with smaller species advised under overhead lines. For a private yard, we suggest matching the mature size of the tree to the space actually available, especially between new, larger houses.
How we work here
We walk the lot with you, flag any tree that is rooted on public ground (those are the city's, handled through 311 and a city permit), and write up the work tree by tree. Stump grinding is quoted separately so you can decide whether to replant in the same spot. Get a free estimate
Lakeview Background
- 17th Street Canal breach. A floodwall section on the 17th Street Canal collapsed during Katrina, flooding much of Lakeview within minutes and up to 14 feet deep in places; water near the breach uprooted trees.
- Housing shift. Large-scale building began after World War II with bungalows as the main style, and many modest homes were later replaced by larger ones.
- City Park next door. The 1,300-acre City Park holds what it calls the world's largest collection of mature live oaks, some over 600 years old, and lost an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 trees after Katrina.
- Neighborhood size. The planning subdistrict covers about 1.61 square miles, with about 8,388 residents in the 2019 American Community Survey.
Lakeview Questions
Our oak was planted after the storm. Does it really need pruning already?
Usually yes. Young trees that grew fast without guidance often have competing leaders and crowded limbs. Light structural pruning now avoids the large cuts that would be needed once those limbs are a foot thick.
Which trees on my Lakeview lot are the city's responsibility?
Trees on the neutral ground and in the strip between the sidewalk and the street are City trees maintained by Parks and Parkways. Requests for them go through 311. Everything rooted on your side of the sidewalk is generally yours.
Can you grind a stump close to a new slab?
In most cases, yes. We check the distance and depth before grinding and stop short of the foundation edge where needed. Remaining roots under a slab are left in place rather than torn out.
What should I plant that won't outgrow a narrow side yard?
Smaller species such as Little Gem magnolia, yaupon or dahoon holly, or a compact crape myrtle variety fit tight spaces better than an oak. Save live oaks for spots with room for a canopy that eventually spreads wider than it is tall.
Free Estimates in Lakeview, LA
Free estimates from West End to City Park Avenue.
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