Officials: Be Careful Where You Plant Trees This Spring

Submission by the city of St. Charles

Planting trees this spring? Be sure you place them carefully. Trees can provide your home with beauty and shade. However, if those trees are planted in the wrong location in your yard, they can also be expensive to maintain and even be dangerous.

Tree limbs can fall during bad weather and damage the electrical wires resulting in power flickers or outages.

Trees that grow 40 feet high or more should be planted at least 50 feet away from power lines.

You should never plant trees directly under power lines. And a mature height of less than 15 feet is recommended if planting near lines. Some trees that are generally not tall enough to interfere with lines are: crabapple, honeysuckle, juniper, flowering dogwood and hawthorn.

Keep in mind, trees and other landscape materials also shoudn’t be planted near poles or too close to electrical equipment. It makes it difficult to access the equipment for maintenance. And always call 811 before digging so underground lines can be located and marked. For more information, contact the Public Works Department at 630.377.4405 or pw@stcharlesil.gov.