Everyone loves trees, right? Whether it’s trees in the Colville National Forest, in Riverside State Park, trees in your own backyard, or lining a sidewalk, trees add beautiful scenery to a landscape, they are a home for animals, provide shade, they help sustain our environment, and more. So when it comes to the health and the aesthetic of the trees in your yard, even though most of the time they don’t get much attention, need to be taken care of and deserve the attention of an arborist when necessary.

Homeowners are sometimes wary of hiring tree services or landscaping services, let alone hiring an arborist to help them manage their trees, but working with an arborist can be incredibly beneficial depending on your needs and the needs of the trees in your yard. Learn all about what arborists do and how they can help you create a beautiful and healthy landscape or yard that you can be proud of.

What Do Arborists Do?

An arborist has a variety of jobs that aim to improve the health of a tree, protect it from damage in the future, and ultimately, protect your home, family, and belongings from being hurt by a fallen tree. At Impeccable Landscapes, we have an ISA-certified arborist on staff and specialized techs who have years of experience working with shrubs and trees. Here’s a look at some of the things they can do.

Pruning Trees

How, when, and how much to prune trees could be a completely separate blog topic, but an arborist is highly skilled and knowledgeable on this topic. Pruning is essential for:

• Helping young trees develop and grow strong and healthy.
• Thinning a tree’s foliage so that there is plenty of light and airflow.
• Removing damaged, dead, diseased, or weak branches or limbs.
• Removing limbs or branches that are too close to your property, or too close to other limbs, causing wounds.
• Reducing the risk of storm damage.
• Removing excess weight from a long branch.

The next time you’re walking around your yard, take a close look at your trees and consider their overall shape, look at the length of the branches, or how thick the canopy is — these could be signs that it’s time to call a landscaping company or an arborist.

Planting Trees

Planting a new tree is a wonderful thing to do — trees can help increase the value of your property, helps our environment, is a home for birds, insects, squirrels, and more. But when you’re spending money on new, young, and immature trees, this is the perfect time to consult with an arborist.

• They will be able to help you decide where to plant the tree based on how much water, sunlight, and space it needs as it grows up.
• They can discuss what risks the tree may face, whether it’s insects or disease.
• They can tell you how deep to plant the tree.
• They can educate you on how to care for the tree as it grows, ensuring it gets the right amount of water, support, and protection from the elements.

Health Care

Over the course of a tree’s life, it will need regular visits from the doctor (arborist) to ensure it’s getting the proper fruits and vegetables (vitamins, minerals, and nutrients) that it has the right support (cabling or bracing), and that it’s getting all necessary medication (sprays to control insects or diseases). Without this regular care and attention, the tree may grow up to be more of a liability than a beneficial asset to your yard. So many times, trees simply sit there and are allowed to grow up however they want, but it takes the right education and training from an arborist to ensure that trees grow up healthy and sturdy. Other health care measures include providing the tree with the right amount of fertilization and irrigation and aerating the soil so the roots get the proper nutrients and airflow.

Emergency Services

Unfortunately, there’s nothing even the best landscaping service can do to predict the weather and how damaging a storm can be to the trees in your yard. When a storm does come through, knocking down branches, power lines, or landing on your home or car, an arborist will know exactly what to do and how to do it safely. Because branches can be extremely heavy, it’s essential that you let a professional handle these situations. They will have the right equipment and team to safely remove damaged limbs or whole trees, electrical wires that are tangled, and more. Always call your power provider when electrical lines are involved.

Tree Removal

It’s a hard day for an arborist when a tree needs to be removed, but when the tree is potentially harmful to people, property, or other trees around it, then it must be done. Never decide on your own if a tree should be removed. A professional will be able to determine when this is necessary or if there are steps to take that can save the tree. Trees typically need to be removed when:

• It has become a liability
• It is crowding or harming other trees
• It’s dead or dying and could fall
• It’s better to replace the tree with a species that fits that location better.

This world just wouldn’t be the same without trees — literally. In fact, they’re so beneficial, you wood not believe it (pun intended). All jokes aside, trees are a beautiful and wonderful part of any landscape and need a lot of care and attention, especially when they are young.

If you’re in need of a professional, reliable, and trusted landscaping service, get in touch with the team at Impeccable Landscapes. We have been providing landscaping services and more to Washington state, North Idaho, and Montana since 1995. Whatever your needs are, you can count on us to provide personalized service to ensure you have a yard that is healthy, safe, and one that you love to spend time in. Contact us today for a free quote on your landscape project.