Tree Planting in Rio Dell, CA

Rio Dell sits on the bluff above the Eel with Scotia across the river, and its trees live with river-valley weather: wet winters, wind funneled up the valley, and soil that moves more than most. After the earthquakes shook the town, plenty of folks also got reacquainted with what a compromised tree near a house really means.

How tree planting goes in Rio Dell

Wind funnels up the Eel River Valley into Rio Dell in winter, the rain is heavy, and the bluff soil moves more than most, which the earthquakes reminded everyone of. Planting in Rio Dell starts with that: wind and salt tolerance where the exposure is real, shade tolerance under existing Douglas fir, and a mature size that fits the lot. Then the hole is dug wide and shallow, the root flare sits at grade, the tree is mulched and staked only if it needs it, and you get a watering plan for the first two summers.

Storm-worn Douglas fir and Monterey pine near houses, and cottonwoods that drop limbs every winter, are the Rio Dell calls we see most. Rio Dell is a few minutes from the Fortuna crew, so it gets the same quick response as Fortuna itself.

When Rio Dell homeowners call for tree planting

• A hole in the yard or the windbreak where a Douglas fir came out.
• A privacy problem on a small lot near the bluff above the Eel that a native screen would solve without a future rigging job.
• An aging windbreak that needs its replacement row planted before it is gone.
• An orchard to start, or fruit trees to replace ones that were too far gone to restore.

Rio Dell is a working town on the bluff above the Eel, with standard lots along Wildwood Avenue and bigger parcels toward the edges where access is easy. Bluff soils here are unstable enough that we look hard at root plates before deciding whether a leaning tree can wait.

Working in Rio Dell

We take care of Rio Dell with removals of storm-worn firs and pines, trimming for the mature shade trees along Wildwood Avenue's neighborhoods, and cleanup work when winter drops limbs across yards and drives.

Around Rio Dell that means Wildwood Avenue, the bluff above the Eel, Scotia across the river, Belleview, and the properties between. Eel River valley wind and soils, storm-worn conifers, working-town budgets.