PNW Tree Care Tip: Windstorm prep + smart pruning (Bellevue/Eastside)

Hey neighbors, we’re Lori & Mardo, a husband + wife team and owners of Dream Team Tree Services here in Bellevue. We’re in Eastside yards every week; here are quick, practical tips before fall winds kick up:

• After-wind check: look for hanging limbs, fresh cracks at forks, rubbing branches, heaving soil, or mushrooms at the trunk base – classic hazard signs.
• Maples (bigleaf/Japanese): stick to light, precise cuts in mid-to-late summer to reduce sap bleed; remove dead/crossing wood and cut at the branch collar. Never top.
• Cedars/arborvitae: only trim where there’s green; avoid cutting into brown/old wood (it won’t fill back in). Keep shaping light in late spring–summer.
• Storm hardening: reduce end-weight on long limbs (don’t strip interior foliage), clear roof/driveway lines, and remove deadwood ahead of storm season.
• When removal’s the safer call: signs include a sudden lean after a storm, root plate lifting, large trunk cavities/decay, or repeated dieback. We handle safe, permitted removals when it’s time.
• Cracked or lodged? Keep people and pets clear, mark the area, and don’t work under tensioned wood until it’s secured.

Got a tree question? Drop it in the comments and we’ll help where we can.

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