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Tree Trimming in Gold Hill

Gold Hill's on our list, no problem. Call (530) 240-2208, and we'll scout out a pruning pro from the area and fix a day for the visit.

Gold Hill sits roughly 2.5 miles south of Coloma, partway between the river and Placerville, so local pros pass through constantly.

Gold first, then fruit

The old name was Granite Hill, and mining came first. Then a canal brought Hangtown Creek water over from the Placerville side, and with it the district turned into important farmland.

Back in the 1800s, Gold Hill fruit went out to buyers across the country. A Japanese colony also settled here briefly, growing tea, along with mulberry trees for raising silk. Scattered farms still dot the hills.

It sits at about 1,621 feet.

Old fruit trees, new owners

Given all that, lots of Gold Hill properties still have aging fruit trees. Some keep bearing. Others are a jungle of vertical shoots, with the only fruit way up top.

Those vertical shoots are watersprouts. Per a UC Master Gardener fruit handout, they rarely set fruit, so they get trimmed back to their parent branch. Dead, sick and crisscrossing wood comes out ahead of them.

Bringing an old tree back is usually a job for a few winters, not one. Encouragingly, the handout says it's tough to kill a fruit tree with pruning.

Apricots and cherries skip the winter round. UC keeps inland pruning of those two to July and August, so wounds close before rain spreads Eutypa spores. UC also names apple and pear as spots the fungus can lurk, even though they seldom suffer from it.

Mulberries and other odd old trees

Old farm places sometimes have trees nobody planted on purpose lately, like a big mulberry or a walnut. Those usually just need a cleanup of dead and weak limbs. The arborist group says that kind of cleaning can be done any time of year.

A walnut with mistletoe is a common sight. UC lists walnut among the trees leafy mistletoe infests. Cut infested branches at least 1 foot below the clump, UC says.

Ditches, canals and thirsty roots

The old canal is the reason Gold Hill ever grew fruit. Water still shapes the trees here. A tree next to an irrigated field or an old ditch has very different roots than one up on a dry slope.

That matters for oaks. The UC Master Gardener talk on county oaks warns that too much water near the trunk can lead to disease. It says oaks are best left unwatered, except maybe extra in winter in a long drought.

Fruit trees are the opposite. The UC fruit handout lists proper irrigation as one of the four things they need to stay healthy and productive. So keep sprinklers for the orchard away from any big oaks nearby.

Prices for medium trees

Most old fruit and farm trees are medium sized. Fixr's national guide lists $150 to $450 for a tree 20 to 30 feet tall. An overgrown tree that needs a lot of corrective cuts may cost more. The pro quotes it after seeing it.

Close by

Head north to tree trimming in Coloma, or northwest to tree trimming in Lotus. Old orchard trees get their own page, fruit tree pruning. The main page is tree trimming in Placerville, and the map sits under our towns.