Chris Francis Tree Care

Chris Francis Tree Care Chris Francis Tree Care would love to help you with your tree care needs. Chris Francis is a Board C

Tree service, fertilization, consultations, inspections, removal, pruning, etc...

Image of a bullet that was embedded in a tree we removed in Mobile, Alabama
06/08/2026

Image of a bullet that was embedded in a tree we removed in Mobile, Alabama

Who lives in there?
06/06/2026

Who lives in there?

This is one bad dude right here: cogongrass. It spreads rapidly by underground rhizomes and by seeds blowing in the win...
06/05/2026

This is one bad dude right here: cogongrass. It spreads rapidly by underground rhizomes and by seeds blowing in the wind. It has no landscape use, and nothing will eat it. It is super invasive. It is nearly impossible to get rid of it. And the herbicides used to control it can kill your trees. Do everything you can to keep cogongrass out of your yard, but if it gets in, be careful how you go about removing it. The magic recipe is glyphosate and imazypyr, and even that will not eradicate it. The glyphosate will not typically damage your trees if you follow the label. The imazypyr is soil active and will cause major problems for your trees and shrubs. You can use glyphosate on its own, but expect less control. You can dig it up, but any of the rhizomes left in the ground will sprout another plant. What about fire? It will burn at super hot temperatures, and while fire is not necessary for its survival, it will stimulate growth and rapid spreading. There is no good way to get rid of it. Your best bet is to keep it out. Be careful about nursery material and pine straw brought in. The first few photos are in a client's front yard. The last photo is cogongrass running wild in a field. You can recognize it by its off-center white mid-vein and the characteristic pointed underground white rhizomes. The grass will get about 3.5 feet tall and bloom.

Trees don't heal. They seal.It sounds like semantics, but the difference is huge. True healing would be to replace bad...
06/04/2026

Trees don't heal. They seal.

It sounds like semantics, but the difference is huge. True healing would be to replace bad tissue with good tissue. That's not what happens in trees. Once an injury or cut occurs, the tree cannot replace the exposed wood. It can attempt to keep decay from spreading into other good wood, but that happens really only on the living wood, the outer few inches. The inner part of the tree is dead, abandoned wood, often referred to as heart wood. While protected by the outer living wood, the inner dead wood typically will not decay. But once it is exposed, the process begins, and it is irreversible. No paint, sealer, or pesticide will work to stop the decay progression. The tree can create woundwood (as seen in the photo) to grow over the wound, and the tree has some internal barriers that attempt to keep the decay from spreading, but those walls are ineffective at protecting the heart wood, and in some species just about useless for all compartmentalization. So, the tree decays, rots, and hollows... as a result of the large wound caused by a machine, a vehicle, or a chainsaw. It can seal over, but if you peel that woundwood back, you would find the site of the original wounding and likely much decay progression.

What tree is this?
06/02/2026

What tree is this?

Remember this tree from last week? We installed a supplemental support system in it today to mitigate the risk of split...
06/02/2026

Remember this tree from last week? We installed a supplemental support system in it today to mitigate the risk of splitting.

These vitex trees just keep on giving. They bloom from spring through summer and sometimes into the fall. They are kno...
06/01/2026

These vitex trees just keep on giving. They bloom from spring through summer and sometimes into the fall. They are known as chaste tree, chaste lilac, or simply vitex. They thrive in full sun but will grow in some shade. They don't love heavy clay soils or wet soils, but they grow well in sandy soils, even those devoid of organic matter. Bees love them. Birds love them. Butterflies love them. The Vitex agnus-castus is a great small growing deciduous tree for south Alabama.

The emergency job on Thursday pushed our schedule into the weekend. Thank you to our crew that came in on Saturday to m...
05/31/2026

The emergency job on Thursday pushed our schedule into the weekend. Thank you to our crew that came in on Saturday to make it happen.

This live oak in Point Clear had large roots being hit by the mower. Our solution was to get rid of the grass. Paul Fo...
05/29/2026

This live oak in Point Clear had large roots being hit by the mower. Our solution was to get rid of the grass. Paul Fontenot concurred and marked the outline of the bed. We painted the line, edged it to separate the grass, then sprayed the grass. We will give it a couple of weeks to die, then air excavate and mulch the bed.

No wind. Just internal decay.
05/28/2026

No wind. Just internal decay.

Address

8727 Glover Lane
Daphne, AL
36526

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 5pm
Tuesday 7am - 5pm
Wednesday 7am - 5pm
Thursday 7am - 5pm
Friday 7am - 5pm

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