1. Why do I need a certified Arborist?
Arborists are trained, certified, and specially equipped to provide proper care for trees. Enlisting the services of an Arborist is the way to ensure the best care for your tree and professional work that will limit your risk as a consumer.
2. When is the best time to prune my trees?
Maintenance pruning on healthy trees may be done any time of year. Pruning of stressed trees often requires lower temperatures for the best results. A certified Arborist can assess your tree’s health and create the optimal schedule for restoring or maintaining the health of your tree.
3. Why is it important that a tree service carry insurance?
Tree work carries a high risk of injury; even death. Prior to providing services, it’s important that a tree care company carry its own insurance so that you’re protected from any liability that may result from an accident on your property.
Terms Of The Trade
There are very specific terms that refer to the work of an Arborist. These are some of the most commonly used ones that also appear throughout the website.
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The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) promotes the professional practice of arboriculture and fosters a greater worldwide awareness of the benefits of trees. ISA Certification is granted only to professionals who demonstrate a mastery of the latest industry techniques and knowledge in tree care.
Refers to the range of specialized techniques an Arborist may employ to ensure the longevity and preserve the beauty of a tree.
Cutting down a tree to near ground. Larger trees with wider flares may be cut to a higher stump than smaller trees or those with less pronounced flares.
Climbing to the highest levels of a tree using ropes and pulleys, Arborists often employ this process to work down the trunk and fell the tree.
Removing interior suckers and small interior branching. In addition to opening up the tree’s interior for better wind flow through its canopy, interior thinning improves the tree’s aesthetics by exposing branching form to view.
Strategically reducing the density of the crown (outer branching part of the tree) for improved wind flow and to improve form and structure. This light pruning reduces the potential for limb failure and damage during a storm.
Lightly thinning out the top of a tree’s canopy, reducing the crown height and/or width. This delicate pruning preserves the integrity of the branches and helps to minimize the possibility of the tree failing or being uprooted in severe weather.
Cutting a tree’s limbs away from a home, garage, shelter, or drive to provide clearance. VTM observes ANSI standards in making precise cuts to preserve the health of the tree and the safety of the neighboring structure.
Installing a cable between two opposing leads or trunks to support the crotch where the two join. This helps decrease the likelihood that the tree will fail in high wind.
This refers to the general health or soundness of a tree. As a part of the overall assessment process, VTM carefully examines your tree for structural defects, such as wood decay, cracks, large deadwood, or any other physical problems.
Often drought, oversaturation by rainfall, and even construction can damage the root system of a tree. In assessing the overall health of a tree, VTM carefully examines the root system, including the surrounding soil, so that proper measures can be taken to maintain or restore its vitality.
Taking samples and performing a scientific analysis of the soil composition. Understanding the unique biological environment where the tree is rooted helps VTM Arborists prescribe proper treatment to promote or maintain its health.
Drilling holes around a tree’s root system to loosen compacted soil and provide places for feeder roots to get oxygen. The process also allows for critical nutrients to be introduced gradually through backfilling the holes.
Installing fertilizer deep below the surface of a tree to increase aeration and promote greater resistance to disease, drought, and borers that bore into woody parts of plants.
Applying environmentally-approved products, Arborists are able to treat diseased and insect-infested trees in order to restore health and vigor. Once the threat is controlled, VTM recommends regular inspections and scheduled applications of water and fertilizer.