Why limbs over the roof matter here
Several trees that grow in Conway yards are known for weak wood. NC State Extension describes water oak limbs as "notoriously weak" and says the tree is at risk of breakage in high winds and in winter snow or ice storms. It says pecan's brittle branches are "prone to breakage, especially in wind," and that Bradford pear "tends to split with age."
Faulkner County gets all three kinds of weather that break limbs. On June 25, 2023, NWS Storm Data recorded that "numerous trees were blown down throughout the city of Conway." The Christmas 2012 storm left up to a quarter inch of ice on trees and power lines and 11 inches of snow at Mayflower. And in December 2000, the weather service wrote, ice "stressed trees and tree limbs to the point where they fell on houses." Trimming can't stop a storm, but taking the heaviest or weakest limbs off the roof side of a tree can change what lands on the house.
Which yard trees break most
A University of Florida study of trees after ten hurricanes ranked common species by how well they survived high wind. Its findings line up with NC State's notes on the same trees:
| Tree | What NC State Extension says | UF wind rating |
|---|---|---|
| Water oak | Limbs "notoriously weak"; at risk in high wind and snow or ice; "may only live 30 to 50 years" | Lowest |
| Southern red oak | "Susceptible to wind damage" | Lowest |
| Pecan | Brittle branches "prone to breakage, especially in wind" | Lowest |
| Bradford pear | Weak crotches break with age or under wind and ice | Lowest |
| Willow oak | "Susceptible to wind damage"; long-lived | Medium-low |
| Sweetgum | Shallow root system; gumballs drop December to April | Medium-high |
| Loblolly and shortleaf pine | Both "susceptible to wind damage" | Pines in general: "very sensitive to wind damage" |
The same UF publication recommends inspecting over-mature trees and species that survive storms poorly, and names pecan and water oak among them. If a big water oak or pecan hangs over your bedroom, that's the tree to look at first. The Faulkner County trees guide goes species by species.
Bradford pears
The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture explains that Bradford pears are "poorly formed trees with many limbs originating from a central location," with "a poor crown structure" that is "prone to breakup." It gives the tree an expected life of about 12 to 15 years and suggests serviceberry, dogwood or redbud in its place, not another ornamental pear. Trimming a mature Bradford pear rarely fixes that weak point. In 2025 and 2026, the City of Conway ran a Bradford Pear Bounty that offered a native tree to the first 25 qualifying households that removed a pear inside city limits and sent before and after photos to the Tree Board; the city said it would not remove the trees, pay for removal, or pick up the debris (checked Nov 10, 2026).
Ice, snow and heavy limbs
The weather service called the Christmas 2012 snow "an extremely rare event" for Arkansas, but big snows do come. The February 2021 storms dropped about 11 inches near Vilonia and 8 to 10 inches in Greenbrier, and Little Rock stayed at or below freezing for 210 straight hours. In January 2026, sleet was the main problem: the weather service's summary says "numerous docks, poultry houses, roof structures and entire businesses collapsed" under it. Limbs that already droop low over a roof or driveway carry that load right where it does the most damage.
A trim before winter usually targets dead wood, broken stubs from the last storm, and long, heavy limbs reaching over the roof, the carport or the service line.
Deadwood after the drought
The University of Arkansas said in June 2026 that central Arkansas had been in extreme or exceptional drought, and in August that "the stress that the trees have been under for the past 12 months with the drought has really started to show," with early leaf drop. Dead branches at the top of an oak are often the first sign. The U of A's plant health clinic lists yellowing leaves, a thinning crown and branch dieback as the early signs of hypoxylon canker, which takes hold in drought-stressed oaks.
A few points from the same extension sources help a stressed tree:
- Water it. Extension forestry educator Jaret Rushing recommended 1 to 3 inches of water a week for trees during drought (U of A, June 29, 2026).
- Protect the roots. Extension forester Jon Barry notes that about 80 percent of a tree's roots sit in the top 18 inches of soil, so avoid digging, packing down or piling fill over them.
- Avoid needless wounds. The clinic says hypoxylon spores enter through wounds in the bark of stressed trees. Ask for clean cuts on a tree that's being kept.
If the bark on the trunk has started to fall off in patches, trimming is probably past the point of helping. See the dying oak guide.
Limbs near power lines
Who trims depends on which wire it is and who owns it.
- Utility lines on poles. Conway's tree ordinance lets the city and Conway Corporation prune or remove trees in rights-of-way and easements for safety, following ANSI pruning standards. Entergy says it trims only to keep service reliable and safe, often by directional pruning that clears the line rather than shaping the tree. A reported concern gets a ticket and an inspection within 10 working days (checked Nov 10, 2026).
- Clearances. First Electric Cooperative says the dripline of a mature tree shouldn't come within 15 feet of either side of an overhead line (checked Nov 10, 2026). Petit Jean Electric's guidance, posted in 2018, is 15 feet, or 20 feet for three-phase lines.
- The service line to your house. A 2015 Entergy article says that for limbs on the line from the pole to the house, homeowners "may have to get a contractor to safely remove it." Call your utility before the work to ask how it handles the service line.
Whatever the line, First Electric, citing Arkansas law, says to keep people and equipment at least 10 feet from energized overhead lines (checked Nov 10, 2026). Don't prune near a wire yourself.
Questions to ask about a trim
- Which limbs will be cut, and why each one? Dead wood, broken stubs, limbs over the roof and limbs near the service line are the usual reasons.
- Will the work follow the ANSI pruning standard, the one Conway's ordinance names for street trees?
- How will limbs over the roof come down: roped and lowered, or dropped?
- How will the climber get up a tree that's staying? Climbing spikes punch holes in the bark.
- Who hauls the brush, and is that in the price?
The brush
Conway's 1977 ordinance O-77-12 covers trimming as well as removal: the tree trimmer is "responsible for removing any limbs, branches or other cutting and/or trimming debris from the job site." The city's yard waste page says limbs from contracted work won't be collected curbside (checked Nov 10, 2026). Entergy doesn't remove debris from trimming a customer requested either. Pine limbs deserve a quick haul: the U of A says Ips bark beetles "most often attack injured, dying or recently felled trees or logging debris," so don't leave fresh pine wood piled in the yard for weeks.
What trimming costs
Nationally, trimming one tree typically runs $402 to $1,158, according to the 2026 Thumbtack trimming guide last revised October 23, 2026; its outer range is $186 to $2,456 (checked Nov 10, 2026). The guide also breaks the price out by height:
| How tall the tree is | Low end | High end |
|---|---|---|
| 5 to 10 feet tall | $474 | $848 |
| 11 to 20 feet tall | $577 | $993 |
| 21 to 40 feet tall | $768 | $1,362 |
| Taller than 40 feet | $1,126 | $1,957 |
Thumbtack, 2026 trimming guide (checked Nov 10, 2026). The same guide says trimmers charge $60 to $80 an hour, though many use flat rates, and that wood chipping adds $50 to $100. NC State lists mature water oaks at 50 to 80 feet and pecans at 70 to 100, so a big one falls in Thumbtack's tallest tier, over 40 feet. These are national figures; the contractor's written price is the one that matters. More on what tree work costs.
Trimming questions
Will Conway Corporation trim the tree by my power line?
The city's ordinance lets the city and Conway Corporation prune trees in rights-of-way and easements for safety. For the line from the pole to your house, or a tree you simply want cut back, ask Conway Corporation what it will handle. Report a limb already on a line as an outage at 501-450-6000 (checked Nov 10, 2026).
Can I put the trimmed limbs at the curb?
If you trimmed them yourself, Conway's weekly yard waste pickup takes brush piles up to 10 feet long, 10 feet wide and 3 feet high. If a hired crew cut them, the crew hauls them (checked Nov 10, 2026).
My water oak is huge and healthy. Should I trim it or take it down?
Often a trim is enough. Weigh its age: NC State says water oak "may only live 30 to 50 years," and the UF study puts it in the lowest wind group. An older one over the house deserves a close look.
Is trimming a Bradford pear worth it?
Usually not for long. The U of A says its poor crown structure makes it prone to break up and gives it a life of about 12 to 15 years.
Each request sent here goes to one independent contractor who works in Conway and Faulkner County. This site doesn't trim trees.
Sources
- NC State Extension Plant Toolbox: water oak, willow oak, southern red oak, pecan, Callery pear, sweetgum, loblolly pine, shortleaf pine. Checked Nov 10, 2026.
- University of Florida IFAS, FR173, Wind and Trees: Lessons Learned from Hurricanes. Checked Nov 10, 2026.
- U of A Division of Agriculture, Bradford pear; drought and timber, June 29, 2026; burn ban awareness, Aug. 20, 2026; Plant Health Clinic Newsletter, May 29, 2018; Common Insect Problems.
- Jon Barry, U of A, Receding Drought Leaves Deadly Touch Among Arkansas Trees.
- City of Conway, Bradford Pear Bounty; Tree Board minutes, March 2026; Ordinance O-11-51; Ordinance O-77-12; yard waste. Checked Nov 10, 2026.
- NWS Little Rock: Storm Data, June 2023; Christmas 2012 snow; December 2000 ice storms; February 2021 snow; January 2026 summary.
- Entergy, Tree trimming (checked Nov 10, 2026) and Trees, power lines and Mother Nature; First Electric Cooperative, vegetation management and working near power lines (checked Nov 10, 2026); Petit Jean Electric, vegetation management (April 5, 2018); Conway Corporation, outages (checked Nov 10, 2026).
- Thumbtack, 2026 Tree Trimming Cost Guide, updated Oct. 23, 2026. Checked Nov 10, 2026.