Services
Tree and shrub care, one service at a time
Six jobs, all about keeping the trees you have healthy. Each starts with the walk.
Tree health walk and written report
An ISA Certified Arborist walks every tree and shrub you want kept, from crown to root flare, and photographs what needs attention. You get a written report that sorts each plant into treat, prune or leave alone.
Crown, trunk, root flare and soil
Photos and notes on each plant
One report you can share with a neighbor or your landscape designer
Pest and disease treatment
Treatment for what the walk found: emerald ash borer, hemlock woolly adelgid, boxwood leafminer, scale, scab and the rest of the valley's list. We choose the product and the date by what is hatching or spreading on your trees.
Trunk injection and soil treatment where the label calls for it
Applied by a New York State certified applicator, to the label
A visit note with the product, the date and the re-entry time
Pruning
Structural pruning for young trees, deadwood and clearance for mature ones, and dormant-season cuts for ornamentals and fruit trees. Every cut is made at the branch collar, with clean tools.
Cuts made to the branch collar, never flush and never topped
Dormant pruning from January to March
Cuttings hauled away
Soil and root care
Most tree trouble starts below the surface. We test the soil, correct mulch piled against trunks, and feed only when a test shows the tree is short of something.
Soil tests sent to a lab, with the results explained
Mulch rings pulled back from the trunk
Compacted soil loosened around the roots
Espalier and fruit-tree training
Apples and pears trained flat against a wall or fence need a few careful cuts and ties every year. We set the wires, shape the tiers and keep the pattern from running away.
Wire and tie work on walls, fences and freestanding frames
Summer and winter shaping cuts
Starting a new espalier from a young whip
Planting and winter protection
The right tree in the right place, planted at the right depth, staked only as long as it needs it, with a watering plan for the first seasons. In winter we screen and wrap what deer and wind would damage.
Planting depth and root-flare checks
A written watering plan for the first two summers
Burlap screens, trunk guards and anti-desiccant for exposed evergreens
How it works
From the first call to the follow-up
Four steps, in the same order every time.
- 01
Step 1: Book a walk
Call, text or use the form. Tell us what you've noticed and send a photo if you can.
- 02
Step 2: The walk
A certified arborist goes over each tree and shrub you want kept, and answers questions as we go.
- 03
Step 3: The written report
Photos, what we found and a price for each tree or group, so you can say yes to some work and wait on the rest.
- 04
Step 4: The work, then a follow-up
Treatments and pruning go ahead when the timing is right, and we come back to check that they worked.
Pricing
What a tree walk and estimate cover
Prices follow the property, not a rate card. Here is what shapes them and when you see the number.
What decides the price
Trees and shrubs vary, so the price follows the property. The same hedge can be a short afternoon or a long day.
How many trees and shrubs, and how large
What the walk finds: which pest or disease, and how far along
Reach: a tall crown, a steep bank or a long carry from the drive
Which service: pruning, treatment, soil work or training
Time of year, because some treatments only work in a short window
What the estimate includes, and what it doesn't
A written list of each tree or group of shrubs we looked at, with what we propose for it and a line for each.
Included: the walk and report, the work itself, hauling of cuttings and cleanup
Not included: taking down a tree that can't be saved, unless the estimate lists it
Not included: a repeat treatment if the pest returns next season; that is a new line
What happens at the walk
A certified arborist walks the property with you. We look at each crown, trunk and patch of soil, take photos and write notes as we go. We don't treat on the first visit unless you ask and the timing is right.
When you get the number
In writing after the walk, before any work is scheduled. Each tree or group has its own price, so you can say yes to some work and wait on the rest.
How and when you pay
Treatment visits are billed when the visit is done. A larger pruning or planting job may take a deposit, and the estimate says how much and when. We take checks, cards and bank transfers.
If we find more than we expected
If something turns up that the walk couldn't show, like a hollow trunk, we stop, show you, and send a revised line in writing before we go on.
Fees, deposits and the walk's cost are stated on your estimate before any work begins.
Our rules
What we won't do to your trees
A few things we turn down, because they harm the tree or leave you guessing.
Top a tree
Cutting a crown back to stubs starves the tree and sends up weak shoots. We prune to the branch collar, or we tell you the tree needs a different plan.
Climb a keeper with spikes
Spikes wound the bark. On a tree we are caring for, we climb on ropes and leave the spikes for removals.
Spray by the date
No treatment visit without a scouting walk first. If we find nothing to treat, we apply nothing and write that down.
Hide the label
You get the product label, the re-entry time and how long to keep children and pets off treated plants. We tell you what the label says, not a promise about what a product can't do.
Questions
About the work
Four questions we hear on every walk.
What does it cost?
It depends on how many trees and shrubs you have, how large they are, what the walk finds and what time of year it is. We don't post figures, because two properties are never alike. After the walk you get a written estimate with a price for each tree or group, so you can decide plant by plant.
What if it rains or freezes?
Treatments wait for the weather the product label asks for, usually dry leaves and a certain range of temperatures. We move the visit and tell you, and a pruning day lost to ice goes to the next dry morning.
What about bees, pets and children?
Every product has a label that states how long to keep people and pets off treated plants, and we tell you that time at every visit. We don't treat flowering plants while bees are working them, and we leave a note on what we applied.
Do you handle storm damage or tree removal?
No. We care for trees that are staying. After a storm we can look at a damaged tree you hope to keep once the hazard is cleared, and for removals we'll point you to a tree service that does that work.
Next step
Book a tree walk
Tell us what you've noticed. We'll call to set a time.