1) Can the city and/or county trim tree branches that are overlapping my fence or property?
If the tree is on your property but grows past your property line, the city or county can prune back the tree to your property line. If a tree impedes traffic (foot or vehicle), the city can prune back your tree to an acceptable height over sidewalks and/or alleys and streets.
If the tree is on city or county property (such as in an easement), they have the right to do whatever they believe is necessary, be it pruning or removing the tree.
We recommend having the tree inspected by a certified arborist if it has been trimmed and you are concerned the pruning may affect the health of the tree. You can find a local arborist by visiting https://www.treesaregood.org/.
2) Where can I find free trees or a tree giveaway program/event?
Programs may be available to you that promote new tree plantings and some of them also have local tree giveaways. Here are a few tree giveaway projects we found at the time of this posting:
1. CITY TREE GIVEAWAYS or other tree programs- Some cities within Texas have annual tree programs that offer reimbursement (up to a designated amount) for trees purchased and planted by residents. Other Texas cities offer residents free trees (typically the trees are dispersed in the fall and are limited to one or two trees per resident per year). The participating cities we found included Argyle, Arlington, Austin, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Fort Worth, Garland, Grapevine, Houston, McKinney, New Braunfels, Plano, Rowlett, San Antonio, San Marcos, Sunset Valley, The Woodlands, and more. We recommend checking with your city of residence to determine if they have a tree program and what the rules and regulations are if they do.
2. Texas Trees Foundation at https://texastrees.org/treegiveaways/. Register to receive their newsletter that highlights their current and future projects and programs at https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E347204&id=99
3. ONCOR’s Annual Energy-Saving Trees Program at https://www.oncor.com/content/oncorwww/wire/en/home/energy-efficiency/oncor-offers-free-trees–annual-energy-saving-trees-programs.html
4. Attend Texas Arbor Day and Earth Day events. They often include tree giveaways.
5. TreeFolks “Tree Adoption Event” in Austin at https://www.treefolks.org/neighborwoods/#apply
6. To investigate tree giveaways further, we recommend either searching online for your specific area, calling or visiting your City Hall, or visiting your city’s government website.