Having an experienced Arborist consult with you can be important. Boutte Tree prides itself on expertise and professionalism. For us, certification is the first step in becoming a good arborist. Let’s consider some typical scenarios that homeowners face, and look at how experience and training affect the outcome. 

Pictured here is Boutte Tree’s own Alex Martin, ISA Certified Arborist #SO-6828 AT. Alex can give you the professional advice of a skilled and experienced arborist!

In each scenario presented below, we will take you through untrained to certified to experienced sales professionals and teams. At Boutte Tree, we offer experienced advice at every step to ensure you receive the best quality for the work provided. 

Scenario 1: A big tree close to your house, which you’re concerned about from the standpoint of safety, but which you appreciate as well.

Salesman Approach: Untrained sales professionals may not understand the basics of risk assessment in trees. This can lead to poor advice for the homeowner. While not always intentional, some unnecessary removals are performed because of a lack of understanding about tree risk. Likewise, trees that are truly risky may be ignored! Would being an ISA-certified arborist help?

Certified Arborist Approach: With ISA certification, an arborist has received more information about risks, and will know some of the signs to look for, such as mushrooms at the base of the tree, cracks in the trunk-wood, or lean. Suppose the tree has no glaring warning signs? What would an arborist recommend in this case, and would it help if they were deeply experienced?

An Experienced Arborist’s Approach: With time, an arborist will learn to ask a lot of questions. Why are you concerned about safety in this case? How long will you stay in the house? Has there been a recent event that’s precipitating this question? Is a neighbor concerned about the tree? With experience, the nuances of liability, neighborly relations, and the timeframe of a given concern become second nature – and this tends to result in the best decisions being made.

Scenario 2: A pruning project is contemplated, because there isn’t enough sunlight on the (deck/pool/garden/etc.)

Salesman Approach: Not understanding tree biology can lead to many suboptimal choices in pruning projects. Non-arborists often specify canopy thinning or canopy reduction in these scenarios, which seldom work as intended. The tree’s health could be negatively affected by performing the wrong kind of pruning. In the worst outcome, the objectives aren’t met and the tree’s health is compromised.

Certified Arborist Approach: A certified arborist should know that topping a tree (removing all limbs above a height threshold making the tree have flat top) is destructive, and generally you’ll get better pruning advice with better knowledge. But managing sunlight is not something all arborists are good at; it takes experience to understand that what works at some properties may not work at others.

An Experienced Arborist’s Approach: To manage light, an experienced arborist will ask about what times of year and during what hours of the daylight is needed. They should explain the way the sun’s angle and travel path vary throughout the season. Many times, after analyzing the situation, the pruning scope changes, and future plans are identified. Sometimes, photos need to be collected before you start cutting. This process usually results in a very effective plan to manage light.

Many projects are straightforward and don’t require much experience or training – and we would love to give you a bid on those projects. But we’re also here for you if you’re asking yourself how to best complete a tricky project!