Pruning - Street Trees

An SDOT Tree Crew removes a damaged limb from a street tree. In addition to emergency response, SDOT crews prune over 3000 street trees per year.

Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is responsible for maintaining the approximately 35,000 trees located along arterial streets as well as maintaining trees which the City has planted along residential streets. Care for all other trees in the street right-of-way is the responsibility of the adjacent property owner. If there is a tree along the non-arterial street in front of your house, and it was not planted by the city, it is your responsibility to take care of it. Care includes watering in the drier season, mulching to conserve water and inhibit weed growth, and pruning to reduce conflicts with human activity, as well as to sustain the health and structure of the tree. If you are uncertain who is responsible for maintaining the tree in your planting strip, call (206) 684-TREE (8733).

Pruning a 3” branch or larger on a tree (or removing a tree) located along the street requires a tree pruning permit from SDOT.

Tree Pruning information in 7 languages

Plant Amnesty also offers a wealth of tree care and pruning information