Getting Started in Tree & Shrub Care

Commitment. It is a strong word, and a word that is not often heard in business these days. However, for landscape contractors looking to expand their businesses into new markets, such as tree and shrub care, the commitment must be strong. Or they would be better off staying out of that business entirely.

First of all, tree and shrub service requires a level of education not needed in lawn care. Even the most highly educated lawn care specialists must dedicate themselves to learning more than they ever thought they would need.

Quite simply put, trees and shrubs are different animals than lawns.

While there might be a dozen popular types of turf and another dozen serious pests to be concerned with in lawn care, the tree specialist needs to understand hundreds of trees and shrubs, and dozens of pests. The sheer numbers of variables off those numbers is enough to keep the lawn specialist awake at night.

“A person could expect to become reasonably skilled in lawn care in about one or two months,” said Bruce Kopitz, president, Nutri-Turf Tree & Lawn Service, Warren, Mich. “However, there are just too many variables involved for anyone to expect to be proficient in tree care in such a short time.

“There might be 100 different landscape elements at a single site, plus you have to be concerned about 50 or 60 common tree or shrub pathogens,” he continued. “There are so many horticultural decisions that have to be made. Is your soil short on magnesium? Short on iron? Do you have sandy soil for trees that love a swampy environment like oaks. You have to look at so much more than you do with simple turf care.”

“In tree care, to be even half way decent, the person must train for a minimum of six months,” agreed James Fanning, president, Evergreen Ornamental & Lawn Care, Orlando, Fla. “Our new tree people ride along and do not apply anything for six months. That time is spent acquiring the necessary knowledge to do a good job servicing our customers.”

Fanning added, however, that selecting a person to train in tree care requires a commitment not only from the company, but from the employee as well. “We need someone who will be here for a while because we invest so much time in training. We need someone who has experience and is willing to commit the time and energy to learn this part of the market,” he said.

“If I am going to hire someone inexperienced, I will hire him into my lawn care area,” he said. “If they show me they are good in lawn care, I can train them in tree care.”

Wayne George, president, Green Seasons Lawn & Tree Care of Delaware, Dover, Del., uses only certified arborists to handle his tree and shrub service. “Not only do they know what they should be doing, but they are certified. That gives me and my customers peace of mind.”

George said his company used to have a few employees who crossed over and did tree service as well as lawn care. “We now have two dedicated employees who do nothing but plant health monitoring. It is a strong commitment, but one that has to be done to serve customers.”

George said that tree care comprises about 30 percent of his business. “We got into it slowly about 20 years ago and grew it as we felt confident we could do the job properly,” he said. “It has been a slow learning process, but we knew that was the only way we could do the job right.”

For professionals seeking to add tree care to their repertoire, George recommended studying the principles of integrated pest management. “We called our program ‘Plant Health Management’ long before IPM was an industry buzzword,” he said. “Someone trying to service the tree customer must understand IPM and what it is all about. Why are you going out to the site? Why would you spray? Why would you not spray? What are the life cycles of the insects in question? What are the weather patterns? What are the life cycles of diseases? Why do diseases occur? You must be ready.”

To get started, George advised contractors to acquire a library of books.“Get any literature you can, and seek out training from universities.

“Your goal is to acquire enough knowledge that you can meet the minimum requirements,” he continued. “Tree and shrub care is not easy, but if you really want to serve this market, you must find the time and dedication to get properly trained.”

“When we made the initial leap, I spent a lot of time in the field,” said Kopitz. “I researched. I accessed the cooperative extension services in the area. I even hired an experienced tree man who had been in the marketplace.

But, he cautioned, the profit might take a while. “It is an expense for a long time because you are marketing something new and purchasing new capital equipment. You are also spending less time in the field and more time studying and researching.”

For Philip Fred, owner, Philip’s Lawn & Tree Therapy, Indianapolis, Ind., committing to trees required more effort than he could give without sacrificing service to his lawn customers. “While we do have ‘Tree’ in our name, we discovered it was very difficult to service trees properly with the resources we had. So we felt getting out of the service was best for us.”

Fred said he fell victim to trying to be all things to everyone, but was fortunate enough to realize it and rethink his efforts. “Trees are a bigger deal than they first seemed. They take time and effort, and we could not give that without hurting our bread and butter customers,” he said.

“There are so many species of trees and shrubs and so many different bugs and diseases that it takes not only formal education, but years of training to do the job adequately,” Fred explained. “That, and the fact that you really cannot piggy back the tree service on lawns, really made it a difficult endeavor.

“If we tried to do the tree work and our service was not up to par, that would reflect on our lawn work, no matter how good we are on lawn care,” he continued. “So we felt it was better not to do trees at all.”

Although Fred found adding trees a difficult process, Evergreen’s Fanning said the process has not been difficult for him. However, he admitted his background is trees, which gave him an advantage from the start.

“But as we get bigger, finding qualified people, or people willing to make the investment in time and education is more difficult,” Fanning said.

How High is Too High

Spraying trees is a difficult job, especially when those trees are 85 to 100 feet tall. But how high can you safely spray? The opinions differ. “We will not treat very tall trees,” said Bruce Kopitz, president, Nurti-Turf Tree & Lawn Service, Warren, Mich. “We are permitted accidental spray drift here, but I believe if you are spraying too high, the spray will drift a block or more, and we would not consider that accidental. So we spray no more than 35 or 40 feet and inject immediately.” Green Season Tree & Lawn Care of Delaware will spray up to 85 feet if necessary, said Wayne George. “We don’t usually go that high, but we can if necessary. We had a heavy gypsy moth infestation a few years ago where we had to get that high, but that is the exception, not the rule.” As for Philip Fred, president, Philip’s Lawn & Tree Therapy, Indianapolis, Ind., spray risk was one reason his company got out of tree care entirely. “On the days with little wind where it was ideal for spraying, it seemed the kids were out playing, the neighbors had their laundry hanging out and the smell would linger in the air,” he said. So spray height is a personal preference. But like tree care altogether, it is a decision that should be made after weighing the pros and cons completely. – Dave Clancy

Fanning said the easiest way to add tree and shrub care service to a lawn care account is to be observant. “About 40 percent of our lawn care customers also have tree care, and we don’t push tree business aggressively. Usually, we pick up the business by noticing trouble with the shrubs. By pointing these things out we are providing them a service.”

However, to provide that service, the contractor must be confident enough in his own abilities to diagnose and treat problems. “There is a big risk when you begin diagnosing problems because of the variables,” Fanning said. “Those risks make us extra careful. If my people are not absolutely sure of the problem, I will go out and visit the property myself.”

“There is so much more at stake when treating trees. Sod is still $2 per yard. Trees and shrubs are not,” Kopitz agreed. “You must make sure your people are properly trained and have the best equipment.”

“Cost of equipment is also a major factor,” said Fanning. “Companies don’t want to invest in the right equipment – that is a big mistake.

“For instance, many people who begin treating shrubs will use one chemical tank for trees and one chemical tank for lawns with a valve to let them swith between the tanks,” he continued. “If they are not careful they can contaminate the mix and get some weed control into their shrub mix.”

Fanning explained that he has separate tanks, hoses, pumps and motors on each vehicle for shrub work. “We have invested an additional $5,000 to outfit each truck to do lawn and shrub care at the same time on a property,” he said. “If I have a guy who has been trained in tree care, it is less expensive for me to have him treat the property than to send a separate truck out.

“And because of my set up, contamination risk is minimized,” he added.

“Many companies are sending out inexperienced people with inadequate equipment and,” Fanning explained. ”Not only are they not serving the customers’ needed, but they are risking killing their shrubs.”

Tree care is a problem-solving business, said George. “If a customer is having a problem with their trees or shrubs, and we can solve that problem, the customer will love us,” he said.

And the lawn care provider that wants to move into tree care must look at the undertaking as a serious add-on, not as something that will add a few dollars to the coffers without significant investment.

“This is a serious commitment,” said Kopitz. “You have individual plants that can be worth thousands of dollars, and the service provider must have the equipment, the energy and the commitment necessary to handle them.

The author is a freelance writer based in Gahanna, Ohio.

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