Tree Service in Plainfield Township, MI

Tree Service in Plainfield Township covers a lot of ground. The township has about 35 square miles of land and 33,535 residents as of 2020, more than many of the cities around it. The Grand River runs through its southern part, and the Rogue River flows south to meet it at Belmont. Grand Rapids Tree Service Pros works throughout the township, including Belmont, Northview and the subdivisions on either side of the rivers.

Neighborhoods with different needs. Northview, between Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Township, Comstock Park and Belmont, has mostly mid-century and later suburban lots with mature yard trees. Belmont, platted in 1874 where the Rogue meets the Grand, has older homes and river frontage. Farther north, larger lots and woods are common. The tree work follows: clearance pruning and removals on suburban lots, bank-friendly removals by the rivers, and hazard checks on wooded acreage.

River corridors. Trees along the Grand and the Rogue are mostly cottonwood, silver maple, sycamore, box elder and willow. They grow very large and shed limbs readily. When one leans toward a house or shed, we plan a controlled sectional removal and keep wood out of the water. On slopes, leaving the stump and roots in place helps hold the bank. Kent County requires an erosion control permit for earth disturbance within 500 feet of a lake or stream.

Burning brush is permit-only. Plainfield Township generally prohibits open burning. Burning yard waste requires a permit from the Plainfield Township Fire Department, available from September 1 through June 30, and the fire chief can suspend burning when conditions are unsafe. Recreational fires must be in approved pits or rings using clean wood. If you would rather not deal with burning at all, we chip brush on site and haul it away, or leave the chips for your beds.

County roads. Township roads are county roads, and the Kent County Road Commission requires a permit for work in the right-of-way. Trees that fall into the traveled road are cleared by the Road Commission (616-242-6950) and the wood is left for the owner.

History in the woods. The township was established in 1838, and Childsdale, now historic, grew up around a sawmill in 1848 before adding a lumber and paper mill. Some of the biggest trees along the rivers today have been growing since that era. They are worth protecting when healthy, and worth a careful look when they start to decline.

Ash, oaks and timing. Like the rest of Kent County, Plainfield lost most of its ash to emerald ash borer, and dead ash still stand in many backyards and woodlots. Oaks are the other big group here, in yards and woodlots alike. We schedule oak pruning outside the April 15 to July 15 window the Michigan DNR recommends avoiding, because fresh cuts in that season attract the beetles that carry oak wilt. Red oaks can die within weeks once infected.

Call (616) 727-8029 or use the form, and tell us which part of the township you are in. Get a free estimate