NYC
Cedar Tree Removal
CEDAR TREE REMOVAL in NYC
The hedge that once gave you privacy now looks like a brown wall with a green skin. The inner branches are bare, the row leans after every wet snow, and the neighbor has started to mention it. GreenLeaf removes cedar and arborvitae screens across NYC, Yonkers, Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk County, whether it’s one tree or a whole property line.
Some rows can still be saved with pruning. Others are past it. Our ISA Certified Arborists will tell you which is which, in plain terms, and start with a free in-person estimate. If removal is the honest answer, we plan it around your fence, your gutters and the people next door. See our tree removal service.
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How to identify a cedar tree in NYC
Eastern red cedar is actually a juniper. Look for scaly blue-green foliage that goes bronze in winter, shaggy reddish bark that peels in long strips, and small frosted blue berries.
Northern white cedar, sold as arborvitae, has flat, fan-shaped sprays of soft scales and a tidy, upright shape. It’s the plant behind most privacy hedges on NYC and Long Island lots.
What goes wrong with an overgrown cedar screen
Dry foliage burns hot
Cedar foliage is dense and full of resin. When a hedge browns out or dies back, it turns into dry fuel that catches fast and burns hot. A dead row pressed against a fence, a garage wall or siding is a fire risk worth taking seriously, especially in a dry summer.
Crowding, pests and rodents
Old hedge rows grow into fences, gutters, siding and sometimes power lines. The thick growth also hides rodents and pests where you can’t see them. Bagworms hang like small brown cones on arborvitae, and by the time you spot them the damage is often well along.
Rust galls on red cedar
In spring, eastern red cedar can show cedar-apple rust: orange, gelatinous horns pushing out of round galls on the branches. A single gall doesn’t mean the tree must go, but heavy infection on a tree that’s already stressed is another reason to think about replacing the screen.
Wet snow and ice on tall rows
A tall hedge holds snow like a sail. Wet snow or ice can bend or split the stems and leave the whole row leaning toward the house, the sidewalk or the yard next door. A row that already leans has usually started to fail at the base.
Signs your cedars are ready to come out
- Browning that starts inside and works outward
- Bare inner branches you can see straight through
- Bagworm cones hanging from arborvitae
- Orange gelatinous horns on red cedar in spring
- Thinning after drought or road-salt splash
- A row leaning after wet snow or ice
Why choose GreenLeaf?
- Proud members of the Tree Care Industry Association
- ISA Certified Arborists, fully licensed and fully insured, Certificate of Insurance available on request
- Local, family-owned, over 40 years of experience
- Serving the five boroughs of NYC, Yonkers, Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk County
A cedar screen is usually a shared-boundary job, so it helps to hire a local, family-owned crew with over 40 years of experience that is fully licensed and insured and will send a Certificate of Insurance on request.
How we take down a cedar hedge line
Hedge jobs are different from single-tree jobs. We walk the row with you first, mark where your property ends, and check what’s behind and beside it: fences, wires, sheds, the neighbor’s patio. Conifers are light and branchy, so most rows come down with climbers and hand-guided cuts, and we bring rigging or a crane when a tall specimen sits tight to a building.
Cedar chips well, so cleanup is fast. The chips and wood are aromatic, and we can haul them away or leave chips for you to use as mulch. Conifers don’t resprout from stumps, so a cut cedar stays gone. Stump grinding is available as a separate choice.
- Free in-person estimate and a walk of the whole row
- Property lines, wires and neighbor access confirmed before work starts
- Climbers section each tree down, with rigging where space is tight
- Branches fed through the chipper as we go
- Debris hauled away, or chips left as mulch if you ask
Tight lots, shared fences and neighbors
In the five boroughs and across Nassau and Suffolk County, a hedge often sits a foot from someone else’s fence. We’ll talk through access, what the neighbor should know and who is responsible for which side, so nobody is surprised by a crew in the driveway. If a cedar stands on a street tree pit or public property, it needs an NYC Parks permit, and GreenLeaf files it through our tree permit service.
Storm season is when leaning rows turn urgent. If a hedge has come down across a walkway or a wire, call for same-day emergency service. For anything less urgent, book a free estimate and we’ll look at the whole line at once.
FAQs
Will a cut cedar grow back from the stump?
No. Conifers don’t resprout from stumps, so once a cedar or arborvitae is cut, it doesn’t come back. The stump will slowly decay, or you can add stump grinding as a separate choice if you want the space cleared for something else.
Can you remove just part of a hedge row?
Yes, but be careful. Cedars and arborvitae don’t regrow bare inner branches, so a gap won’t fill in. If the whole row is browning or leaning, removing it all and starting fresh usually looks better than patching.
What if the hedge sits on my neighbor's property line?
Talk to the neighbor first. If the hedge sits on the line, you’ll likely want them agreeing to the plan. We can look at the row with both of you and work out access so the job doesn’t disturb either yard.
What happens to the chips and wood?
Cedar chips efficiently and smells good doing it. We can haul the chips and wood away as part of cleanup, or leave the chips on site as mulch if you’d like them.
Do I need a permit to remove a cedar?
Trees on your private property generally don’t need an NYC Parks permit, but street trees and trees on public property do. If yours is one of those, we handle the paperwork through our tree permit service.
Can a browning arborvitae be saved?
Sometimes. Browning after a dry spell or salt splash may improve with care. But once inner branches are bare, they won’t fill in again. Our arborists will tell you honestly at the estimate whether the hedge is worth keeping.
More Removal Guides by Species
Every species fails differently and needs its own removal plan. See our full tree removal service or pick another guide.
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