Cedar & land clearing · Central Texas
Cedar and brush cleared selectively, leaving your best oaks and big trees limbed up and park-like. Pads and roads built, power trenched in, done right by an experienced crew with 30+ years in Central Texas land sculpting, and ownership closely involved in every job.
Services
We clear selectively. The scrub cedar comes out, while your oaks, other big trees and any large cedar worth keeping stay standing and get limbed up, leaving a clean, park-like landscape. Cleared cedar is piled and burned, not left as a mulch mat.
Good for: Park-like homesites, pastures, views, wildlife openings
Overgrown mesquite, yaupon, briars and undergrowth cleared out, with the oaks and trees you want to keep marked and left standing.
Good for: Overgrown acreage, tree lines, creek bottoms
Cleared, shaped and compacted pads for a home, barn, shop or slab, set so water drains away from what you build.
Good for: New homes, barns, shops, RV and equipment pads
Clean, straight lanes along property lines or new fence routes, so the fence crew can get to work and you can drive the line later.
Good for: New fences, boundary lines, cross fencing
Ranch roads and driveways cut in, crowned and shaped to shed water and hold up to trucks, trailers and Texas rain.
Good for: Entry drives, ranch roads, pasture access
Trenching and installation of underground electric lines from the pole to your home, well, barn or shop, using our Vermeer trencher.
Good for: New builds, wells, barns, shops, gates
Tractor shredding to knock back tall grass and light brush and keep cleared land from sliding back into thicket.
Good for: Pastures, lots, follow-up maintenance
Once the ground is cleared and the burn piles are done, we reseed with native grasses for lasting cover or winter rye for quick cool-season green, so grass comes back where the cedar and brush were.
Good for: Freshly cleared ground, burn pile scars, bare pasture
Mulching cedar leaves a thick mat of chips on the ground that smothers the soil and keeps native grasses from growing back. We pile and burn cleared cedar instead. It's the proper way to clear cedar: clear it, burn it, then reseed with native grasses or winter rye so grass comes back.
Know your land
Ashe juniper, the Hill Country "cedar," is native, but left unchecked it thickens into dense stands that compete hard for the water your grass and oaks need. Here's what the research says.
Texas A&M researchers estimated a mature Ashe juniper loses about 33 gallons of water a day through its foliage, versus about 19 for a comparable live oak.1
A 3-year study of 2,700 rain events found cedar canopy caught about 35% of rainfall and the litter beneath it another 5%. That water evaporates before reaching the soil.2
Rains under about a tenth of an inch were entirely captured by the canopy in that study, contributing nothing to soil moisture under the trees.2
Low-intensity rain, the kind that should soak in, was more than 60% intercepted by cedar canopy. Hard downpours were affected less.2
Studies on the Edwards Plateau have measured juniper and other brush using roughly 19 to 47 gallons per tree per day, depending on species, season and site. Thick stands add up: modeled juniper populations in some pastures used over an acre-foot of water a year.1,3
In the same interception study, the water reaching the soil under cedar dropped from about 600 to 360 mm a year at western sites and from 900 to 540 mm at eastern sites. That's rain your grass, oaks and soil never see.2
Cedar is evergreen and stays active whenever there's moisture, so dense stands compete with live oaks and other hardwoods for the same water. Thinning cedar from around your oaks leaves more of that water for them. That's why we clear selectively: the crowding cedar goes, your oaks and best trees stay, limbed up and given room to thrive.1
Results vary by site. Research on the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone has found that when cleared ground grows back in grass and shrubs, the new cover uses much of that water too, so clearing doesn't automatically mean more aquifer recharge.4 What clearing reliably does is put more rain into your soil for grass and hardwoods. That's why we clear, burn and reseed.
The fleet
How it works
Tell us where the property is, roughly how many acres, and what you want it to become.
We look at the ground, the growth and the trees worth saving, and talk through the plan with you.
You get a free estimate with the scope spelled out before any work begins.
Our crew brings the right machine for each part of the job, reseeds cleared ground with native grasses or winter rye if you want it, and ownership stays closely involved until it's done.
Know your land
Ashe juniper spreads fast when left alone. Thick stands shade out grasses and wildflowers and leave bare, eroding ground underneath. Opening it up gives native grasses and hardwoods room to return.
Mulching cedar leaves a thick mat of chips that smothers the soil and keeps native grass from coming back. We pile and burn instead, the proper way to clear cedar, so your land is left open. Reseeding afterward with native grasses or winter rye helps grass come back.
Clearing is the big step, but brush and cedar seedlings will try to come back. Periodic shredding over the next few seasons keeps the ground open and the work you paid for intact.
A good pad or driveway starts with drainage. Shaping the ground so water moves away from slabs and off roads saves headaches for years.
Service area
From the Hill Country to the I-35 corridor, including:
FAQ
No. We pile and burn cleared cedar. Mulch leaves a mat on the ground that keeps native grasses from growing back.
Every property is different. Price depends on acreage, how thick the growth is, the terrain and the work involved. We walk the land and give you a free estimate.
Yes, and it's one of the things we do best. We clear selectively, leaving the oaks, other large trees and any big cedar worth keeping, then limb them up so the property opens into a clean, park-like landscape. Walk the land with us and point out your favorites.
All of Central Texas, including the Hill Country and Hays, Travis, Blanco, Comal, Burnet and Williamson counties. If you're nearby and not sure, just ask.
Yes. Clearing, the house pad, the driveway and the trench for underground electric can all be handled by one crew.
An experienced crew with 30+ years in Central Texas land sculpting, with ownership closely involved in every job.
Not necessarily. We'll go over the plan with you up front and keep you posted as the work moves along.
Reseeding with native grasses or winter rye helps cover cleared ground and burn pile spots, and some follow-up shredding keeps regrowth down. We can handle both.
Free estimate
Send the property, the problem and the goal. We'll get back to you quickly with next steps.
Landsculptors, Inc.