Underbrushing in San Antonio, TX

Underbrush Clearing Around the Trees You Keep

Every underbrushing job starts with the trees you plan to keep. We go over the land with you and mark the oaks and other keepers. The wheeled forestry mulcher works the open ground between them. Skid steers with mulching heads handle the tight spots between trees and along fences.

The mulching head grinds cedar, brush, saplings and vines down to chips. Deadfall goes through the same head. The chips land on the ground and stay there as cover.

Underbrushing is a lighter touch than clearing everything. Forestry mulching is the method behind it, and on open ground it can mulch a whole tract of brush. Land clearing goes further, and the excavator pulls stumps and roots out of the ground. Underbrushing leaves the keepers standing and the topsoil in place.

When Should You Underbrush Around Oak Trees?

Oak wilt is why timing matters. The Texas A and M Forest Service says the disease is killing millions of trees across 76 Texas counties. Small insects called sap beetles carry its spores to new trees. Any fresh wound on an oak can let the disease in, including wounds from land or cedar clearing.

The forest service says to avoid wounding oaks from February through June. At any time of year, it says to paint an oak wound right away. So when oaks are on the tract, we plan the timing with you. The mulching heads stay clear of the trunks and exposed roots of the trees you keep.

Underbrushing for Hill Country Home Sites and South Texas Ranch Land

In the Hill Country around Boerne, Helotes, Bulverde and Canyon Lake, the understory is often cedar under live oaks. On a home site, underbrushing opens the ground so you can see where the house and the drive will sit. Acreage headed for sale is easier to show once buyers can see under the trees.

Hill Country land calls for one more check. Texas Parks and Wildlife says golden-cheeked warblers nest only in central Texas mixed Ashe juniper and oak woodland. Their nesting woods sit in ravines and canyons, and the birds build nests from long strips of cedar bark. If your tract has mature cedar and oak in a ravine, look into that before any cedar comes out.

South of the city, toward our Pleasanton yard, the brush under live oaks is more often mesquite and huisache. On hunting land, underbrushing opens sight lines and cuts senderos while the trees stay. Fence line clearing takes the brush back so new wire can go up. Pasture can be opened between the oaks, with the trees left for shade.