Are you in the market to hire a tree and shrub care service? If so, you might be wondering how you can narrow down your options and choose a company that will best suit your property’s needs.
One of the best ways to do this is to ask questions!
A quick little interview process can help you to determine whether the tree and shrub care service you’re considering is a good fit. For a lot of companies, tree and shrub care is an add-on to lawn care services. By no means is this a bad thing…after all, we, too, are a lawn care company. But sometimes it can mean that tree and shrub care is an afterthought. And, if you don’t find a company that truly knows its stuff, you could end up with bad results.
Here are a few questions to ask a tree and shrub care service that will help you to sort out the companies that truly understand this specialty.
#1: What do you do for soil health?
Soil health is at the root (quite literally) of your tree and shrub’s health. Yet there are plenty of companies that don’t pay ANY attention to soil health. Any tree and shrub care service that you’re considering should be including soil health as part of their program’s focus.
Treatments to address the soil health around the trees and shrubs in your landscaping can not only keep them looking their best, but could help trees to naturally repair some injuries more quickly or even help young plants to establish themselves more quickly.
#2: Are you switching up your products based on the time of year or the plant or pest you’re treating?
With tree and shrub care, different plants and different problems require different solutions. But you’d be shocked how often companies just take a blanket approach to everything they do.
The treatment of mites is a perfect example of this.
You should know that there are both harmful and beneficial mites on your trees and shrubs. The beneficial mites actually eat the harmful ones. However, if a general miticide product is used, it’s going to kill all of them. It’s critical to use a selective product that won’t kill predatory mites.
You would think that all tree and shrub care companies would do this but it’s not the case at all.
#3: What kind of training do your technicians go through and do you encourage them to become certified?
When you hire a tree and shrub care service you are looking for them to improve your trees and shrubs. The last thing that you ever want is for them to cause harm in some way. But clueless technicians who aren’t well-trained can actually hurt your trees and shrubs.
Techs can cause bigger problems if they apply the wrong product…or apply it at the wrong time of the year. Japanese Maples are a good example. Any well-trained tree and shrub care tech who knows his or her stuff knows that you don’t hit them in hot weather because you could fry them.
But sadly, plenty of poorly trained techs have made such a mistake.
Asking about training or certifications can help separate companies with poorly trained techs from those who take it seriously. At Oasis Turf & Tree, serving Cincinnati, Dayton, OH, and Northern Kentucky, we have Landscape Industry Certified Horticultural Technicians on staff. With this training and certification, our techs go way beyond the basics.
Becoming a Certified Horticultural Technician is no simple feat as they must pass examinations that prove they know what they're talking about. Keep in mind there are hundreds of common varieties of plants and each plant could have up to a dozen different issues. Those who earn this certification have to be familiar with all of the different insects and diseases that impact plants.
#4: What type of cultural recommendations will you make about my trees and shrubs?
Finally, when you are thinking about hiring a tree and shrub care service, you want to make sure that they’ll be there to support you beyond their tree and shrub care program.
You want a company that can also offer you advice on things you can do to best take care of your trees and shrubs.
This is why it will be beneficial to also ask about what types of recommendations they may make. You want to make sure they’re giving you advice on things like watering and pruning so that together, you can get the best possible results.
At Oasis Turf & Tree, we aren’t just leaving behind an invoice but we are also leaving tips and other recommendations in our notes. We really want to see you get the most out of your trees and shrubs and we’re there to help.
Making a Wise Choice When Hiring a Tree and Shrub Care Service in Cincinnati, Dayton, OH, and Northern Kentucky
Hopefully, these questions to ask a tree and shrub care service have given you a good starting point in looking for the right tree and shrub care service in Cincinnati, Dayton, OH, and Northern Kentucky. You want the best for the trees and shrubs on your property and that boils down to choosing a company with your best interest at heart.
At Oasis Turf & Tree, we take all of this quite seriously. At the end of the day, our commitment to knowledge and education is a difference that you can see. It’s why our lawns are greener and the trees and shrubs that we care for are healthier.
We care about going beyond the bare minimum and delivering the best possible results and service. And when you’re hiring a tree and shrub care service, that’s what we believe you deserve.
There are a lot of potential problems that your trees and shrubs could have, but it shouldn’t have to be your worry. With the right tree and shrub professional on your side, they’ll make sure you’re taken care of.
If you would like to find out more about our tree and shrub care program, call 513-697-9090 or contact us for a free estimate.
