While researching Weatherproofing Your Landscape: A Homeowner's Guide to Protecting and Rescuing Your Plants, I picked Jud's brain more times than a less generous man would have permitted. He isn't just knowledgeable about trees—he's passionate about them.
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| Courtesy Wabash College |
A. A working relationship with an arborist is always a good idea—much like having a regular doctor who knows you and understands your problems.
For example, property inspection and annual care by an arborist can save you thousands of dollars in repairs if installing a support cable (for $150 to $200) can keep a tree from falling on your house. Or the removal of a tree that is decayed can be done when it is noticed during a regular inspection, instead of in the middle of the night at emergency storm rates.
Finally, and maybe most important, in the event of a real serious storm, regular clients get taken care of first. If you don't have a relationship with an arborist, you may have to wait.
Q. Arborists tend to have their hands full during and after an extreme-weather event. How long can a damaged tree wait to be repaired?
A. Unstable trees should not wait, but stable trees can often wait until "after the storm," or even until winter. Each case will differ according to the need. Sometimes the tree will be just plain ugly after a section splits out, and you may not want to wait. Sometimes we will say, "Let's get this off the house, and then we will come back for the rest after the storm."
Q. What can an arborist do for last summer's drought and flood-ravaged trees and shrubs?
A. The best thing you could have done for drought-ravaged trees was water them—one inch or more per week. Next best thing is to water them now until the snow flies.
Trees damaged by construction present other problems during droughts. Most people don't know that roots are only 2 to 3 feet below grade, so cutting roots for construction leaves them prone to drought damage. The best care is preventive pre-construction planning with an arborist who understands construction, trees and preservation. Often you need to give trees that were near construction areas extra water in drought times.
As for flooded trees, they may be okay—trees sometimes can take standing in water for a while. This is an individual tree-to-tree diagnosis (thus the need for a working relationship with your arborist).
Q. This year has already produced the most natural disasters on record in the US in one calendar year...and we still have nearly three months to go. What is the most important piece of advice you can give to landscape owners whose trees and shrubs have suffered damage from extreme-weather events?
A. Realize that, before you call out a Consulting Arborist for an appraisal of damages, the Internal Revenue Service will allow deductions for "sudden unexpected or unusual events," which a storm event might be—but it will not accept "formulaic" appraisals like the Trunk Formula method. It is best to talk with your accountant, and maybe your attorney, before your arborist. It is also important to hire an arborist who has experience with this kind of work.
[Note: The subject of tax breaks and insurance deductions for landscape damage is covered in Weatherproofing Your Landscape: A Homeowner's Guide to Protecting and Rescuing Your Plants.]
Q. What's the difference between a Certified Arborist, a Registered Consulting arborist, and a tree-trimming service that employs neither of the above?
A. Certified Arborist or Board Certified Master Arborist are designations given by the International Society of Arboriculture http://www.isa.-arbor.com/. These designations are a sign that the person has a good working knowledge of arboriculture. The arborists will often use personal protective gear [PPGs], which is best for them and a good indication that they will take care of your property too.
A Registered Consulting Arborist [RCA] has passed the American Society of Consulting Arborists http://www.asca-consultants.org/ Academy, and written a series of rigorously graded papers. RCAs are the group you are looking for when you have a litigious situation, a tree preservation project, a neighbor dispute, or an insurance issue.
Another group to look for are Certified Treecare Safety Professionals from the Tree Care Industry Association http://www.treecareindustry.org/. If the company is a TCIA member and/or has Certified Treecare Safety Professionals on staff, this is a good sign they are progressive and will be safe to take care of your property.
Then there is the company that has none of these. My question would be, "Why not?" They may be good—they may not. I would ask a lot of questions of them, and definitely ask for a certificate of insurance from all.
