Wichita, Kansas
Tree Removal and Tree Service in Wichita
Wichita sits where the eastern forest gives out and the prairie takes over. Trees here live on the edge of what the climate allows, and a two-year drought can kill thousands of them across the city.
- County
- Sedgwick
- Tree rules
- City of Wichita Park and Recreation, Forestry
- Key local rule
- Permit required to plant or remove a tree in the public right-of-way
- Electric utility
- Evergy
- Main hazards
- Drought, ice storms, thunderstorm wind, tornadoes
What drought does here
The drought of 2011 and 2012 brought two summers of extreme heat with little rain. The city lost thousands of park and street trees, and private yards lost many more. Pines, maples, birches and even established oaks died outright or declined over the next few years.
Dry spells since, including 2022 and 2023, have repeated the pattern on a smaller scale. Trees do not die in the drought year itself as often as in the one or two years after, when weakened trees are finished off by borers and canker diseases.
The practical point for owners is that a tree which leafed out thin and dropped leaves early should be watered deeply and watched. One that failed to leaf out at all on major limbs is unlikely to return.
How Wichita trees cope
| Tree | Drought tolerance | Other weaknesses |
|---|---|---|
| Siberian elm | High | Brittle. Constant limb drop. Elm leaf beetle. |
| Hackberry | High | Few. Old ice wounds decay. |
| Bur oak | High | Slow to establish. Otherwise the best large tree here. |
| Silver maple | Low to moderate | Splits, surface roots, sunscald |
| Scots and Austrian pine | Moderate | Pine wilt kills them regardless of water |
| River birch and red maple | Low | Decline in heat and alkaline soil |
Right-of-way trees and private trees
Wichita requires a permit from the city to plant or remove a tree in the public right-of-way. The right-of-way usually includes the strip between sidewalk and curb. The city's forestry staff manage street and park trees, and the city also requires tree protection around public trees during construction.
No city permit is needed to remove a tree on your own residential lot. Kansas does not license arborists at the state level, and the Kansas Arborists Association offers a voluntary certification that many local companies hold.
Ask any company for proof of liability and workers' compensation insurance, and ask whether the city requires anything of contractors for the specific work you want done.
Signs a drought-stressed tree will not recover
No leaves on the upper third by early June
The top is dead. It will not refoliate.
Bark cracking and falling from the trunk
The tissue beneath has died.
Small round or D-shaped holes with sawdust
Borers have moved into a weakened tree.
A pine that turned entirely brown in a month
Pine wilt. Remove and destroy the wood before April.
Ice, wind and tornadoes
- January 2005 ice storm
- Heavy glaze broke the tops out of elms and maples across the city. Many still show it.
- December 2007 ice storm
- A second major event within three years across south-central Kansas.
- April 14, 2012
- A tornado crossed the southeast side of the city, damaging homes and aircraft plants.
- April 29, 2022
- A strong tornado struck Andover on the eastern edge of the metro area.
- Summer outflow winds
- Gusts of 60 to 80 mph ahead of thunderstorms several times a year.
Keeping a mature Wichita tree alive in a dry year
Water slowly at the drip line
A hose trickling for an hour or two in several spots, every two to three weeks in summer.
Mulch
Three inches of wood chips over the root zone, kept off the trunk.
Hold off on pruning live wood
Remove dead and broken branches only until the tree recovers.
Do not fertilize
It pushes growth the roots cannot support.
Wichita tree service questions
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Wichita?
Only if the tree is in the public right-of-way. Trees on your own lot do not need a city permit.
My tree lost its leaves early last summer. Is it dead?
Not necessarily. Many trees shed leaves to survive drought. Check for live buds and green tissue under the bark in spring. The guide on whether a tree is dead explains how.
What should replace a dead tree in Wichita?
Species proven in local heat and drought, such as bur oak, chinkapin oak, hackberry, Kentucky coffeetree and lacebark elm. Plant more than one kind.
How fast must a pine with pine wilt be removed?
Before April 1 of the following spring, and the wood should be burned, chipped or buried so the beetles that spread it cannot emerge.
Reach a tree service in Wichita
Call to be connected with an independent tree company that works in the Wichita area, or leave your number and one will call you back.
(844) 955-1716Call availability varies by area and time of day
Limbwright is a referral service. Your call goes to an independent tree service company that sets its own schedule and terms. Ask for proof of insurance and a written scope before work starts. How this works
Call now
Talk to a tree service provider in your area. Have the tree's location and what it is near ready.
(844) 955-1716Call nowCall availability varies by area and time of day