TREE FACTS & CARE
Your Total Tree Care Company in Langley, BC
At Country Tree Service, we provide quality tree care services at everyday competitive rates. With Hydro BC-certified and insured arborists on staff, we bring a level of detail and professionalism that is unparalleled in BC’s arborist trade.
We receive many questions on extending tree lifespans, tree topping, as well as identifying tree hazards. While many of these questions are answered in the subsequent pages, some do require an arborist on site to fully determine the needs of your trees or shrubs.
Tree Care: Your Total Tree Care Company in Langley, BC
At Country Tree Service, we provide quality tree care services at everyday competitive rates. With Hydro BC-certified and insured arborists on staff, we bring a level of detail and professionalism that is unparalleled in BC’s arborist trade.
Total Tree Care Services for Vancouver, Langley and Area
The arborists at Country Tree Service serve every aspect of pruning, tree care, and removal services. In addition to general tree and hedge services, our team can provide:
Arborist reports
Brush chipping
Certified tree risk assessments (with ISA arborist)
Cleaning service wires (BC Hydro)
Commercial tree services
Dangerous tree assessments
Electrical line clearing
Emergency tree services (24/7)
Hedging
Lot clearing
Root removals
Spurless climbing
Storm damage cleanups and tree removals
Stump grinding
Stump removals
Total tree care
Crane services
Tree removals
Utility arborist
Tree Hazard Checklist: Vancouver, Do You Have a “Problem” Tree?
Trees are so beneficial to homes, landscapes, and quality of life that sometimes their inherent risks are overlooked. If a tree is structurally unsound, dead, or diseased, it can pose a serious risk to people and property. In addition to the liabilities, many homeowner insurance policies will not cover damage that results from an unmaintained tree, so it’s important to be proactive in protecting your property.
Identifying Tree Hazards
By considering the following questions, you can help ensure your property’s trees are safe and are not at risk of falling or causing significant damage.
Have the leaves taken on a colour or size that is unusual for this time of year?
Does your tree have large dead branches?
Are large, detached branches hanging on to the tree?
Are there holes or rotted wood in any of the major branches or trunks?
Does the tree have mushrooms at its base?
Do you see any splits or cracks in any of the trunks?
Have any branches fallen off the tree?
Have nearby trees died or fallen over?
Do any trunks have a strong/dramatic lean?
Is there a spot of dense branch growth on one spot of the trunk?
Have any roots been damaged, injured, or split due to lowering soil, installing pavement, or repairing a sidewalk?
Has your property recently been altered by construction, rise in soil level, or lawn installation?
Have trees in a neighbouring wooded area been removed?
Have your trees been “topped” or heavily pruned?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, it may be time to call a professional arborist. To schedule an appointment, call Country Tree Service. We have 24-hour emergency services available available 7 days a week to Langley, Vancouver, and throughout the Lower Mainland.
Reasons Not to “Top” Trees: Read These 8 Great Reasons to Not Have Your Trees “Topped”
You may be asking yourself “What is ‘topping,’ exactly?” Topping involves the indiscriminate cutting down of tree branches to the bare stubs in order to reduce the size of a tree. Many homeowners do this with the best of intentions, such as to ensure the safety of their family or property, but often times, the tree can become unstable in the long term. Amazingly, after nearly three decades of literature and public education explaining the harmful effects of tree topping, the practice still goes on in many British Columbia communities.
Starvation: Topping a tree can cause it to temporarily starve since the crown is a part of its “food factory.” For older trees and those without the necessary energy reserves, topping can cause serious weakening, leaf loss, or death. When done correctly, a professional pruning typically removes much less of a tree’s crown when compared to the topping process.
Shock and Sunburns: Yes, trees can get sunburns! The leaves of a tree’s crown act as shields for the tree’s bark. When that shield is removed through topping, it can cause the below tissue to overheat and burn. This can lead to splitting bark, cankers, and death to some branches.
Insects and Disease: Like an open wound on a human, cuts on a tree can become pathways to infection and parasites. Unlike humans, trees have a difficult time healing from larger wounds. When trees are topped, they become vulnerable to insects and fungi spores. If decay is already present in a limb, cutting the limb will speed the disease’s spread.
Weak Limbs: At best, new branches will sprout after the larger limb has been truncated. Although, these new branches will be weaker since they are only held on by the outer tissue. These branches are the type most affected by ice storms. If rot is present or develops at the limb’s severed end, the weight of the sprout can make a bad situation even worse.
Rapid New Growth:Most customers have their trees topped to control its height and spread. But, doing so actually has the opposite effect. New sprouts will be far more numerous and the crown will rapidly grow back to its previous height — yet, with a denser crown.
Death: Some older trees can withstand topping. Others, such as beeches, have a far more difficult time sprouting new growth and will most likely die as a result.
Ugliness: Trees are at their most beautiful when they are in their natural state. To put it simply, a tree that has been topped has become disfigured. Even when new growth does appear, it will never regain its former grace or characteristics.
Cost: Topping is usually cheaper since it doesn’t require experience or the use of sound judgment, but the true costs of topping are often hidden. These can include:
Reduced property value
Removal and replacement if it dies
Loss of other trees and shrubs from overexposure
Liabilities of weakened branches
Increased cost of future maintenance
If your tree has been topped, we may be able to help bring it back to a state of acceptable health and appearance. Call Country Tree Service for additional information.