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Tree trimming can save life and limb in a storm
Nancy Szerlag: Gardening
October 28. 2011
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20111028/OPINION03/110280304/Tree-trimming-can-save-life-and-limb-in-a-storm#ixzz1cMvXE2EX
On my to-do list last week was scheduling an appointment with Owen Tree Service, (800) 724-6680, www.owentree.com, to have one of their arborists check out the trees in my yard. Several ashes have succumbed to the emerald ash borer, and a couple of others look like they might need trimming.
Brad Dunkin, staff arborist at Owen Tree Service, says it's smart to be proactive when it comes to tree care. Having a professional trim and possibly cable or remove a weak limb can mean the difference between life and death to a tree should a violent storm hit. It's often cheaper to take down a tree beyond help before it's knocked down by a storm, causing expensive collateral damage, injury and possibly death.
About every decade, Mother Nature would trim trees of small twigs and dead or weak branches by sending a storm through large areas — such as southern lower Michigan — in spring just as trees were leafing out.
"But our weather patterns have changed," says Randy Owen, president of Owen Tree Service. "Now we get fierce storms that hit localized areas throughout the summer."
When fully leafed out, some large trees that haven't been trimmed either by nature or a professional arborist cannot withstand the pressure of the wind and are damaged or destroyed. We've all seen videos on the nightly news of giant trees toppled onto houses, cars and electrical wires. The cost of emergency removal of these huge trees can be in the thousands. Damage to homes and cars can also run in the thousands. In a few cases it can cost the owners their lives.
The time to find a good tree care service is before trouble strikes. Fly-by-night operators often go door-to-door soliciting work cleaning up storm damage. Professionals rely on advertising, word-of-mouth referrals and repeat business.
"When hiring a tree service, a certificate of insurance that includes workman's compensation coverage is a must," says Owen. If a person you hired is injured on your property and not covered, you could be liable.
If someone knocks on your door and flashes you a sheet of paper that looks like a certificate of insurance, beware. With today's technology, they are easily forged. "We are happy to have our insurer send a client a copy of our policy by email, fax or snail mail, so they can be assured of our coverage," says Owen.
Membership in national and local professional organizations also indicates quality of service and skill. They usually are listed on company websites, so check them out.
Nancy Szerlag is a master gardener and Metro Detroit freelance writer. Her column appears Fridays in Homestyle. Email her at Szerlag@earthlink.net.
Growing Green Earth Day Expo
Visit with representatives of Owen Tree Service at the Growing Green Earth Day Expo. There will be exhibits of green products & vendors, information on ecology issues, organic gardens, organic lawn care, and more. The expo is Saturday, April 9, 2011 from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM at the Canterbury Village which is at 2325 Joslyn Rd. in Orion Twp., MI.
View expo flier
Why Think About Winter Interest Now?
With Mother Nature about to release her icy grip on us why should we be thinking about improving the winter interest of our landscapes? Well, now is actually the perfect time to look around our landscapes and see how we can make improvements so when we’re looking out our window next winter the view is a little more bearable.
By examining our landscapes before the trees and shrubs start to leaf out we can see where improvements can be made this spring, once the planting season arrives. Could a corner planting in the backyard improve the view next winter when you’re sipping a warm cup of coffee a Saturday morning? Maybe a specimen tree with unusual bark in the middle of the yard could make looking at a snowy landscape a bit more tolerable.
The winter interest of our landscapes can be improved by planting a number of different sized trees or shrubs. Even ornamental grasses, when kept throughout the winter, can add interest to the winter landscape outside.
With this thought in mind here are a few ideas and plant characteristics to consider for improving the winter interest of your landscape.
Tree Structure
The branch structure of several species of landscape trees can beautify your winter landscape. Weeping trees can be interesting with their leaves on, but once the leaves depart their real character becomes apparent. Some of the options for weeping trees include Weeping Crabapple, Weeping Cherry, Weeping Beech, Weeping White Pine, Weeping Spruce, or Weeping Larch.
Weeping Cherry tree
Tree Branch or Twig Color
Let’s face it, sometimes the scene outside our windows can be downright dreary in the winter. Color can be added to the winter landscape in several ways. The obvious choice is Red-Twig Dogwood. Its bright red twigs add a splash of color to an otherwise monotone landscape. Other options include Yellow-Twig Dogwood, or Coral-Bark Willow. The Yellow-Twig Dogwood will add a more muted tone to the landscape, but does expand the variety of color options for the winter landscape. Once established, Coral-Bark Willow should be cut back heavily each year or it will grow to be a fairly large tree.
 Red-Twig Dogwood Photo: Paul Wray, ISU, Bugwood.org
Tree & Shrub Fruit
Several species of trees and shrubs produce colorful fruit. We can benefit from the various colors the fruit adds to the landscape and a side benefit is that many of our resident winter birds will utilize the fruit as a winter food source. Possible landscape plants here include several species of Crabapple, Flowering Dogwood, Holly shrubs, or Cranberry Viburnum.
Unusual Tree Bark
Certain landscape trees have bark characteristics that can add interest throughout the year. Sometimes the bark may be hidden by the leaves of low-hanging branches, but once the leaves fall these trees can be wonderful additions to your landscape. Trees with interesting bark include Paperbark Maple (Acer griseum), River Birch (Betual nigra), and Lacebark Pine (Pinus bungeana).
  River Birch bark Paperbark Maple bark
The trees and shrubs mentioned here are just a few of the possible options for adding winter interest to your landscape. Even though we’re at the beginning of spring we can observe our landscapes now to see where improvements can be made when the spring planting season arrives. With the plant options available to us our landscapes should offer beauty, interest, and enjoyment in every season of the year.An Ounce of Prevention…
Our world has become complex and sometimes even stressful with the current economy, technological advances, and the explosion of social media. Who would have thought these same types of stress could affect our landscape plants as well!
Landscape plants are planted together, often times in unnatural settings, and then expected to flourish. Unfortunately, our landscape plants are subjected to many stress-inducing factors such as air pollution, drought, and adverse soil conditions that they would not experience in their native habitats.
When economic times are tough landscape maintenance budgets often suffer. This allows disease & insect pests that normally would have been kept in check to run rampant.
To make matters worse, as our technologically advanced world has gotten smaller, insect and disease movements around the planet have accelerated. Invasive insect and disease pests have already affected large segments of our native plant population – think Chestnut Blight, Dutch Elm Disease, Emerald Ash Borer, Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, and Asian Longhorn Beetle.
Additionally, when landscape plantings are installed without regard to the needs of neighboring plants problems often arise. All too often our arborists see landscapes where annual flowers (which need a lot of water) are planted next to Yew shrubs (which are susceptible to root rot). Another common problem with Yew shrubs that our arborists encounter is Yew shrubs planted near drain spouts. The excess soil moisture causes the foliage of the Yew shrub to turn a yellow-orange color. These examples highlight how consulting an arborist before putting in new plants can benefit both your landscape plants and your landscape budget.
The scientific treatment of existing landscape plantings such as the Integrated Pest Management techniques used by Owen Tree Service is an effective option to control many of the insect, mite, and disease pests that attack landscape plantings. Our arborists can suggest traditional approaches to insect and disease pest control as well as organic options for insect and disease pest control.
Keeping trees and shrubs healthy is a key component of any Plant Health Care program. Several university studies have confirmed the benefits of fertilizing landscape trees and shrubs and most quality tree services offer this service to their clients. More recent advancements in tree health have now allowed us to add mycorrhizae (beneficial fungi), rhizobacteria, and root stimulants to our tree fertilizing treatments. All of these tree fertilizing/soil enhancement options help reduce stress factors that invite attacks from disease or insect pests. Our arborists can explain the differences and benefits of each of these services if you need more detailed information.
The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” certainly applies when it comes to adding new trees and shrubs to an existing landscape or maintaining existing landscape trees and shrubs. Our arborists are here and will be happy to inspect your property when, and if, the need arises.
Randy Owen Heads National Organization
Randy Owen of Owen Tree Service has been elected as the chairman of the board of directors of the Tree Care Industry Association. Randy takes over the chairmanship with 37 years of experience working in the tree care industry and has served as a TCIA board member for the past 7 years. Additionally, Randy serves on the United Way board of directors in Lapeer County and was also the past president of the Michigan Forestry & Parks Association.
Randy began his tree service career in 1974 and formed Owen Tree Service in 1985. He became one of the first ISA Certified Arborists in Michigan in 1992. Since that time Owen Tree Service has continued to grow, add new landscape maintenance offerings, and has received several local and national awards for their work. Owen Tree Service works throughout Michigan but primarily provides tree, shrub, and lawn care service to Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Genesee, Lapeer, and St. Clair counties in southeast Michigan. Owen Tree Service provides tree and lawn care to commercial, municipal, residential, and utility clients.
TREE CARE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
3 Perimeter Road, Unit 1 Tel: (603) 314-5380; (800) 733-2622
Manchester, NH 03103 Fax: (603) 314-5386
E-mail: tcia@treecareindustry.org Contact: Robert Rouse
Web site: www.treecareindustry.org Email: rouse@treecareindustry.org
For Immediate Release
December 22, 2010
OWEN TREE SERVICE, INC. CONTINUES TO ADHERE TO BEST INDUSTRY PRACTICES
Local Tree Care Company Gains 3-Year Industry Re-Accreditation
Owen Tree Service, Inc., a commercial and residential tree care company with locations in Pontiac and Attica, Michigan has been recently re-accredited in accordance with Tree Care Company Accreditation standards put forth by the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA), America’s oldest and most respected tree care trade association. Accredited tree care companies must re-apply every three years so that their practices can be reviewed and the continuation of best business practices can be verified.
TCIA Accreditation is the only program of its kind in the tree care industry. It is a voluntary process evaluating businesses to ensure that professional practices and standards are met by all employees that work on your property. When you hire an accredited tree care company, you can rest assured that this organization has been checked for proper insurance, applicable licenses, reliable and ethical customer service practices, and meets strict operating standards. A key objective for Accreditation is to help companies provide the highest levels of service to customers.
To achieve business Accreditation, businesses undergo an extensive review of professional practices aimed at safeguarding consumers, including:
► Consumer satisfaction
► Best business practices
► Formal employee training
► Compliance with industry standards
► Adherence to safety and quality standards
► Insurance coverage
As a measure of protection to consumers, businesses undergo renewal check-ups annually. The annual renewal ensures that the company continues to employ trained professionals, is still properly insured and has a good safety and consumer satisfaction rating.
Owen Tree Service, Inc. was the first tree service in the nation to achieve TCIA accreditation, and the first to receive re-accreditation with no “corrective measures” stipulated on the audit report. The 3-year Re-Accreditation achievement demonstrates that Owen Tree Service, Inc. has undergone an extensive review of practices as well as a site visit, and continues to adhere to all accreditation standards.
For more information regarding the Tree Care Industry Association, visit www.tcia.org. For more information regarding the Accreditation program at TCIA or to obtain digital photos, contact Bob Rouse at (800) 733-2622 x117 or email rouse@tcia.org.
For more information regarding Owen Tree Service, Inc., visit www.owentree.com or call (810) 724-6651.
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