Answered for Greenwood, Johnson County.
NWS Indianapolis logs 23 tornadoes in Johnson County from 1950-2025. Near Greenwood specifically: an F3 on September 20, 2002 ($25M, the county's costliest) and an F2 on March 31, 2006 ($3M). More recently, an EF3 hit New Whiteland on March 31, 2023 ($6.67M), and on June 25, 2023 an EF2 with 115 mph winds tracked 5.4 miles near Bargersville, just west of Greenwood, passing south of Center Grove High School and snapping trees and power poles. The June 29, 2012 derecho also crossed the area. Black Tupelo (Black Gum) holds up better than most under it. Removing a black tupelo (black gum) around Greenwood runs roughly $250–$1,400, and in Old Town Greenwood, Green Valley and Imperial Hills access is usually what decides where in that range you land.
Two separate canopies in one city. The pre-1960 blocks around Old Town and near County Line Road hold Greenwood's only genuinely mature shade trees — just 9% of the housing stock predates 1960 — while the subdivisions east of I-65 are 2000s-era plantings still small enough to prune off a ladder. Ash is functionally gone: emerald ash borer has been confirmed in Indiana since April 2004 and is now in all 92 counties.
Median year built is 1996 across 27,721 housing units (ACS 2019-2023, tables B25034/B25035). About 27% predates 1980 — including a small pre-1940 Old Town core — but roughly 42% went up after 2000. The practical result: 70-to-90-year-old shade trees hanging over Old Town roofs, and 10-to-20-year-old nursery stock in the subdivisions east of I-65.
Illinois Extension lists wind among the conditions it tolerates, and between strong wood, wide branch attachments, and a taproot, tupelo is a low-risk tree in Indiana wind events. Ice is the one exception: the long horizontal limbs that make its winter form attractive are also long lever arms, so heavy tip growth on a mature tree is worth reducing before an ice season.
No permit is required to remove a tree on private property in Greenwood. Tree rules in the city code are all about new development and the public way: the UDO's landscaping standards require street trees along frontage and give credit for preserving existing large-caliper trees, separate provisions restrict planting in the public way, and the Stormwater Department's Easement Encroachment Permit is required before planting any tree or shrub inside an existing drainage or utility easement. The specific UDO section numbers and planting ratios could not be verified against the live code — confirm with Planning and the Stormwater Department. Cutting down your own backyard tree needs nothing.
1251 U.S. Hwy 31 N, Greenwood, IN 46142
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4035 E Stop 11 Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46237
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8909 Chitwood Dr, Indianapolis, IN 46227
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597 Shady Brook Hts, Greenwood, IN 46142
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325 E Banta Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46227
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5741 Gallagher Dr, Greenwood, IN 46142
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Carl Schwander · 5 months ago · Google
Distance measured from Greenwood.