Why Hire a Certified Arborist?

Landscaping represents a large part of your property’s value. In fact, the American Society of Landscape Architects notes that adding professional landscaping to a property can increase resale values by as much as 20%. When creating a landscape plan, landscape professionals often opt for mature trees that work well in the home’s zone and microclimate as trees are one of the most important elements in a cohesive landscape design. 

Whether you’ve created your landscape from scratch or simply purchased a home with trees already in place, you will want to ensure that these valuable property elements are properly cared for to maintain their value — and bring you years of beauty. But tree care can be confusing, with each specimen having specific needs and issues. To safeguard your landscape, consider hiring a tree professional that has targeted knowledge on all aspects of tree installation, care and maintenance — a certified arborist. 

What Exactly is a Certified Arborist?

A certified arborist is more than just a person who is knowledgeable about trees. The International Society of Arboriculture provides arborist certification to individuals who have documented their knowledge and competence by passing a comprehensive exam. The ISA is a nongovernmental, voluntary certification that allows arborists to prove they have attained a specific knowledge level in the areas of tree maintenance practices, safety, tree biology, disease and problem diagnosis, and other areas surrounding tree care.  

Certified arborists must stay up to date on current practices and technologies surrounding the area of tree care through specified continuing education. This requirement means that arborists who are ISA certified are more likely to have leading-edge knowledge to assist in the care and management of your trees.  

What Services Can an Arborist Provide?

Your landscape represents a big investment in your property, so hiring a certified arborist is a great way to ensure your investment provides years of beauty and value. Arborists can implement a host of services designed to help you keep your trees in the best of health, including: 

Consultations

Regardless of the age of your landscape, it is never too late to start taking care of it properly. Whether your trees have been recently planted or you have an aging landscape that is showing signs of issues such as missing bark, fungal overgrowth, dead branches or a thinning tree canopy, a certified arborist can help you pinpoint issues, create a long-term care plan, or manage specific diseases and problems. Consultations with an arborist before landscape development can also help you to choose the right trees for your landscape and help solve issues that may be inherent with your property such as creating windbreaks, avoiding drainage issues, and keeping vegetation clear of rights-of-ways and utilities.  

Fertilization Services and Pest Control

All trees require fertilization, but if you are dealing with issues such as heat and drought, insect invasion, limited root spaces or construction-related damage, you will want to ensure your trees get extra special treatment.  

Certified arborists can create a landscape-specific fertilization plan that can include:

• Root stimulators for healthier, faster-growing root systems.
• Soil conditioners to break down clay or other heavily impacted soils.
• Balanced micro- and macronutrients that change seasonally.
• Beneficial fungi that help enhance your tree’s health.
• Bacteria that help break down organic matter for better nutrient uptake.

An arborist will use special equipment to ensure fertilizer is applied properly in the top 6 to 12 inches of soil along the drip line for best results. Finally, an arborist can further protect your landscape by managing insect pests as well as fungi and bacteria that can attack and damage trees. 

Soil Aeration

Soil aeration is critical for healthy plant growth and nutrient uptake, but urban and suburban soils are often compacted by construction and feature poor soils with low nutrient content. This can cause plants to grow slowly, die back, or be more susceptible to diseases and insects. By aerating the root system, an arborist can accelerate a tree’s ability to gain air, nutrients and water through the fracturing of soil. Looser soils allow stronger root development and better overall tree health. By examining the soils using specialized equipment, certified arborists can loosen compacted areas and help your trees thrive. 

Pruning, Bracing and Cabling

Mature trees can suffer from growth patterns that leave them prone to issues such as split trunks or limb failure — structural problems that can not only affect the health of your tree, but also damage your property. Proper pruning is essential to keep this issue from occurring, but sometimes the addition of bracing and cabling is needed to reinforce a specific joint and redistribute the weight of the tree. 

Many times, multi-trunked trees are plagued by trunk splitting that occurs near the base of the tree where the many trunks diverge. If this is caught early on, the trees and its branches can often be saved using stabilizing cables and bolting rods. 

Need a Certified Arborist? Call Townsend Arborcare

Not only are supply chain issues in our post-pandemic world causing shrub and tree shortages, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to find certified tree care professionals that can help you protect your investment in your property.  

At Townsend Arborcare, we are a family business with one of the largest fleets of tree care vehicles and specialty equipment to help our team of certified arborists manage your landscape. From controlling pests, pruning, and fertilizing, to removing trees after storm emergencies, we are your one-stop source for all your tree care needs.

Get the peace of mind that comes with a professionally managed landscape. Contact a Townsend Arborcare consultant at 888-827-4802 and learn how a certified arborist can help preserve the health of your trees.