Tree pruning

May 8, 2023 | News Updates

The City owns over 330,000 street and park trees and works hard to keep them healthy. The City will only prune trees on City property, such as the City owned portion of the roadway, in front and at the side of residential lots and City parks.

How you can help:

  • Water the tree during dry spells (see Watering Your Tree)
  • Monitor the tree’s condition and reporting to the City any disease, damage or infestations
  • Limit construction near the roots of the tree – at least 10 centimetres away from the trunk for every centimetre of trunk diameter. (see the City of Ottawa’s Tree Protection Guidelines)
  • Many herbicides or weed killers that are used on grass can cause severe damage to trees when misapplied. This can occur on windy days, causing the drift to fall on non-target plants, or on hot days when the herbicide may vaporize and diffuse into the air. While most herbicides do not kill tree roots, some chemicals, such as soil sterilants, will have a detrimental effect on growth. Herbicides that can cause tree damage should have statements on their labels warning against using the product near trees.
  • Keep in mind, the property values of landscaped homes are 5 to 20 per cent higher than those without plants.

Should you require additional information on tree pruning, please call 3-1-1. To request City tree maintenance, report a City tree in poor health, or to determine ownership of a tree, click here.