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Zone 0: the five-foot rule around your house cleared the board but is not law yet
Direct Answer: As of late September 2026 there is no statewide Zone 0 rule in force. The Board adopted it on August 19, 2026, but it is not operative until the Office of Administrative Law files it. A homeowner above Saratoga wrote to us in August after seeing a headline about California’s new five-foot rule. […]
Building an ADU Near a Mature Tree? The Root Zone Decides What Is Possible
Direct Answer: A tree protection zone is the ground around a trunk that must stay undisturbed during construction. It is usually 12 times trunk diameter, or the dripline plus five feet, and it limits where you can build. Almost every ADU conversation I get pulled into starts with the same question: which trees have to […]
When a Neighbor’s Tree Lands on Your Fence, Whose Problem Is the Cleanup?
Direct Answer: In California, whoever owns the ground under the trunk owns the tree. But paying for fence damage usually turns on negligence, not ownership, so document the tree’s condition and call your insurer. The call usually comes the morning after a storm. A tree or a heavy limb has come down across a shared […]
Mushrooms Popped Up at the Base of Your Tree After the Rain. Now What?
Direct Answer: Mushrooms in the lawn are usually harmless soil fungi. Fruiting bodies growing directly from the trunk, root flare, or a buttress root usually mean wood inside has already been decaying for years. A storm moves through San Jose, the ground finally softens, and four or five days later something new is sitting at […]
Your Redwood Is Dropping Limbs. The Last Pruning Job May Be Why.
Direct Answer: Most coast redwood limb failure in San Jose traces back to lion-tailing, where interior branches were stripped and weight was pushed to the branch tips. That is usually correctable, not a reason to remove the tree. You walked out one morning after a windy stretch and found a limb on the lawn. Maybe […]
When a Tree Visit Is Free and When It Comes With a Fee in San Jose
Direct Answer: A visit to price known work is usually free. A visit to diagnose what is wrong with a tree, or to write a report for the city, is professional work and usually carries a fee. A homeowner in the Cambrian area of San Jose wrote to us this summer after reading our published […]
Can an Arborist Tell What’s Wrong With Your Tree From a Photo?
Direct Answer: Sometimes. Photos can confirm deadwood, canopy density, size and access, but they cannot show a buried root collar, internal decay, or root plate movement. Those need someone on the ground. Most people who call about a worrying tree are not really stuck on price. They are stuck on something smaller and more practical: […]
Saratoga’s Updated Tree Rules and the 5-Foot Zone Around Your House
Direct Answer: Since March 6, 2026, Saratoga homeowners may remove trees within five feet of the house for wildfire safety, but only if they establish and maintain a non-flammable zone in that same five feet. Most homeowners I talk to in the Saratoga foothills have no idea the rules changed. On March 6, 2026, an […]
Your Bay Laurel May Be the Reason Your Oak Is Dying
Direct Answer: Sudden Oak Death spreads from California bay laurels to oaks, not oak to oak. Rain washes spores off infected bay leaves onto oak trunks. Proximity to bay laurel is the biggest risk factor. In May and June of this year, one call came in over and over with almost the same wording. A […]
An Oak Tree in Cupertino or Almaden Plays by Different Rules
Direct Answer: Oaks in San Jose need pruning in late fall or winter, almost no summer irrigation, and often a city permit before major work. Most oak decline traces back to water, not disease. A returning customer in Cupertino sent in a form about an oak in their backyard. The whole message came down to […]
