Standing Tall

While opportunities abound in tree care, so do hazards that could squash an operator’s chance of success, let alone survival. By capitalizing on the growth potential of tree services, the sky could be the limit as this market keeps looking up.

“The tree care industry is doing great. It’s showing a lot of resilience and continued growth as we turn toward 2025,” says David White, president of the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA). “People are seeing trees as an investment worth spending their resources to preserve.”

Tree care, like most landscaping services, boomed during the pandemic as people spent more time at home and invested in their properties. “Coming into 2023, we saw a bit of a slowdown as people reset, but that seems to have rebounded,” White says. “I wouldn’t call it an awakening because people have been talking about the importance of trees for a long time, but more people are understanding the value of trees.”

This growth trajectory is creating plenty of opportunity in the tree care market for providers who can meet the demand safely and efficiently. By investing in talent, training and technology, tree care providers are planting strong roots to weather the storms in this industry.

Safety first

Branching out into tree care services is a bit more complicated than just buying a chainsaw.“Someone who just buys a chainsaw and starts their own tree company might not know that anything you touch in the tree industry has repercussions down the line,” says Judd Bryarly, CEO of Timberline Landscaping in Colorado Springs, who added a tree care division five years ago.

“You’re making decisions on a tree that can last a lifetime, so you’ve got to educate yourself and understand the repercussions of the work you’re doing.”

Before investing in any equipment or chopping down any limbs, the cornerstone of tree care services should be training. In addition to understanding how to diagnose and treat plant issues, tree care providers also need to know how to safely climb trees while handling dangerous equipment.

“You should never start or run a tree business without basic knowledge of tree work. You should be able to physically climb a tree, run a bucket truck and run a chainsaw,” says Mark Haymaker, whose father started Haymaker Tree and Lawn in North Canton, Ohio, in 1968, focused mainly (80%) on tree care.

The types of training and capabilities you’ll need will vary with the services you offer — whether it’s pruning, trimming and clearing, or it’s providing plant health services like fertilization, pest and disease control. In any case, safety should always be paramount.

Consistently ranked one of the most dangerous occupations in the world, tree trimming poses potentially deadly risks. Tree work claims an average annual fatality rate of 110 per 100,000 workers, which is about 30 times higher than the average of less than 4 across all other industries, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not have specific standards for tree care operations beyond its General Duty regulations, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has developed safety standards for arboriculture (2017 ANSI Z133). Beyond these regulations, however, no industry-wide requirements exist for operating a tree care business.

“There are states that require a license or a certificate, and there are many that require nothing,” White says, noting that plant health care services like fertilization and pest control application tend to be more evenly regulated. Of course, municipalities and commercial clients set their own requirements.

“If you’re interested in pursuing tree care, it’s incumbent upon you to get those certifications, even if they are voluntary,” White says. For example, TCIA’s Certified Treecare Safety Professional (CTSP) program offers the industry a safety credentialing program, and the International Society of Arboriculture’s ISA Certified Arborist designation serves as the gold standard. “If you’re going to be successful in this industry, you need to seek that knowledge and those credentials on your own.”

Finding talent

Tree care is a fairly recent addition at Timberline Landscaping. The company launched its tree care division in 2019 through the strategic hire of an experienced local tree care expert. Now, “five years later, we’re jamming with it,” says Bryarly, noting that tree care now comprises about 45 employees and 14% of Timberline’s business.

Unfortunately, many companies aren’t so lucky; they struggle to attract and retain employees with the skills to keep services humming.

“Labor is by far the biggest challenge,” Bryarly says. “You’ve got guys doing a very dangerous job and using extremely dangerous machinery. Trying to find the right people for this job is always a challenge.”

Timberline has amped up its recruiting efforts now with a full-time dedicated recruiter on staff. Three recent acquisitions have accelerated its growth, both in terms of employee numbers and tree service capabilities, while also strengthening its employee benefits package, which helps to attract and retain staff. “When you’re looking for guys who have ISA certifications and other skills, you have to have an attractive package and competitive pay rates,” says Stephanie Early, chief of strategy at Timberline.

While mergers and acquisitions are picking up pace, White says the companies that are growing aren’t just acquiring talent — they’re also developing talent over time.

“Where companies are finding traction [against labor challenges] is through defined career pathways, whether that’s a recognized apprenticeship program or at least a formal training program,” White says. “When an employer can show a prospective employee, ‘Here’s the plan to walk you up the ladder to Certified Arborist,’ they’re having a lot of success.”

For example, TCIA offers a Registered Apprenticeship Program that prepares participants for the ISA Certified Arborist exam. Through its Tree Care Academy, the association also offers online training materials and competency requirements that employers and educators can implement. Timberline offers a similar online training portal called Timberline U, where employees can access company standards and ISA study materials. “It’s important to support your teammates who have the grit to go after those certifications,” Early says.

No matter how experienced employees are, safety training should be an ongoing focus. Haymaker holds weekly safety meetings to review standards, procedures and recent issues, and spends a week bringing in external trainers to cover CPR, driving, aerial rescue and equipment-specific safety.

“The most successful tree care companies are the ones that make safety the top priority, not just lip service,” White says.

Rising costs

Another challenge facing the tree industry is financial. “Not only is it hard to attract employees, but they want to be paid more,” White says. Meanwhile, “fuel costs continue to go up. All of your inputs continue to cost more.”

These expenses can make profit margins tricky, whether you’re just making your initial investment or you’ve been in the business for decades like Haymaker. “The biggest challenge in tree care is the high overhead cost it takes to operate,” he says. “It’s a very expensive business to run, no matter what size company you have.”

Advanced tools, machinery and technologies aim to mitigate this challenge. As an example, White cites the growing popularity of “reach-grab-cut” implements like knuckle-boom-mounted grapple-saws that allow operators to maintain their distance from the falling tree (enhancing safety) while reducing the labor requirements of pruning and trimming (improving efficiency).

Meanwhile, software such as fleet management applications add routing efficiencies to optimize fuel costs.

When evaluating these tools, Haymaker advises operators not to lose sight of the market pricing around them if they want to stay competitive.

“It’s not like you can just raise your rates to offset costs, because someone else will do the work,” says Haymaker, who employs about 40 people. “It’s a battle of having nice equipment, nice wages and 401(k)s for your employees — but still, at the same time, having to bid against competitors that don’t have any of that. It’s very challenging.”

Within that challenge lies the opportunity for qualified tree care professionals to stand out in a crowded market, White says, by demonstrating that the value they provide transcends simple limb removals. For example, when Timberline gives an estimate to trim a broken branch, they’ll also assess other trees on the customer’s property to encourage a more proactive approach.

“The biggest opportunity for us right now is helping people realize what they can do now to save their trees for years to come,” Bryarly says.

White agrees. “The companies that are proud and willing to educate the public about their professionalism and what sets them apart, those are the successful companies,” he says.

Industry outlook

Despite the obstacles that envelop the tree care industry, there are plenty of trends driving growth — at least for the companies making investments to hone their expertise.

Amid rising environmental awareness about the role of trees — and increasing investments via government grants to expand the urban canopy — tree service professionals see steady growth ahead.

“There’s a lot of opportunity for tree work. We’re always going to have Mother Nature to help us out,” says Bryarly, citing wildfires, wind storms and winter weather as steady business drivers for tree services.

“But at the same time, our city has a lot of grants coming out in the next couple of years that are going to provide a revenue stream for tree care companies and ensure that the tree canopy is strong for years to come. I see that as a great opportunity. It’s going to be a strong next few years for the tree care industry.”

The author is a freelance writer based in Ohio.