Quick answer
Yes, we work across Montgomery County, from the dense streets of Cheltenham out to the open, wooded country near Perkiomen Creek. Work here swings between emergencies, like the trees the 2021 Ida tornado put on homes in Upper Dublin, and planned trimming around roofs and wires. In Lower Merion, trees in the right-of-way need a township permit before anyone cuts.
The Ida tornado from Fort Washington to Horsham
The strongest Pennsylvania tornado of Ida's 2021 outbreak was an EF-2 with 130 mph winds. It ran 8 miles from Fort Washington through Upper Dublin to Horsham, up to 400 yards wide, and its one death came when a tree fell on a home on Kenyon Drive in Upper Dublin. A year earlier, Isaias had sent a separate EF0 through Worcester Township, bringing trees down there too.
A tree lying on a house is a rigging job before it is a cutting job. The weight has to come off in an order that keeps the roof and the trunk from shifting, which often means a crane pick or a top-down rig from the next tree. That is what our emergency removal calls are about, and we answer the phone 24/7 for them.
Common Montgomery County calls
The phone splits two ways here: storm emergencies, and the planned trimming that keeps the next one smaller.
- Emergency Tree RemovalTrees on roofs and cars after events like the 2021 Ida tornado through Upper Dublin and Horsham.
- Crane Tree RemovalBig trees over houses with no safe drop zone, where lifting the trunk out beats lowering it on ropes.
- Tree Trimming Near Service LinesLimbs rubbing the drop from pole to house, the part PECO leaves to owners.
- Tree of Heaven RemovalTree of heaven along fences and lots, the lanternfly's favored host, cut and stump-treated so it does not come back.
- Tree TrimmingRoutine crown work between storms, so weak limbs come off on your schedule rather than the wind's.
Rowhouse Cheltenham to the Perkiomen woods
The county changes fast as you head north. Weather stations put Cheltenham at 125 feet and Upper Hanover Township at 489, and the ground between runs from dense rowhouse streets near the city line to wooded, open country around Perkiomen Creek. A removal at one end is a hand carry through a back gate; at the other, it can be a long haul out of the trees.
The county park system adds plenty of wooded edge: Green Lane Park at 3,400 acres with 25 trail miles, Perkiomen Valley Park at 800, Norristown Farm Park at 690 and Lorimer Park at 230. If your yard backs onto parkland, call before cutting anything rooted on the park side of the line.
Some townships run their own rules. In Lower Merion, a tree with more than half its trunk in the right-of-way needs a written request and a Public Works permit before a contractor touches it. Our pages for Lower Merion, Abington and Cheltenham cover the local details.
PECO lines, lanternfly hosts and pear
The June 2020 derecho cut power to about 453,700 PECO customers, with four deaths blamed on falling trees, and the Juneteenth 2025 storms left roughly 327,000 more in the dark as trees fell onto lines. PECO handles its distribution lines. The service line running from its pole to a home is the owner's responsibility, so we clear limbs off it once PECO has made the drop safe.
Just over the line, Philadelphia has been in Pennsylvania's spotted lanternfly quarantine since 2017, and the insect favors tree of heaven. We take those weed trees out and treat the stump so it does not resprout. Callery pear is the other cleanup job: Pennsylvania listed it as a noxious weed in late 2021, and its narrow forks split under wind and ice.
Questions from Montgomery County owners
It depends on the township rather than the county. Lower Merion requires a written request and a Public Works permit for right-of-way trees, and Cheltenham has its own ordinance. Tell us the township and we check first.
Usually. A long carry or a winch line adds time, but the work is the same: sections down, wood out. Tell us how far the tree stands from the driveway and what is between.
PECO looks after its distribution lines and will make your service drop safe. Clearing branches off that drop falls to you or a contractor, and PECO asks for the request at least two weeks ahead.
They have been lately. Ida's 2021 EF-2 ran 8 miles from Fort Washington to Horsham with 130 mph winds, and Isaias brought an EF0 to Worcester Township in 2020. Weak trees near the house deserve a look.
Montgomery County townships and neighbors
A tree problem anywhere in Montgomery County?
Call us at any hour. Describe the tree and where it stands, and we will tell you how it comes down and what it takes.