Tree Pruning

Introduction Arborvitae is one of the most popular privacy screening trees in Virginia for good reason: it grows fast, stays dense year-round, and is widely available. It is also, unfortunately, one of the most reliably eaten plants in any deer’s territory. If you have planted arborvitae as a privacy screen and you live anywhere near […]

Introduction Mistletoe has a centuries-long cultural history as a holiday decoration and symbol of good luck, which makes it easy to overlook as the plant problem it actually is when it shows up in your trees. Seeing a green ball of growth hanging in a bare winter oak looks almost decorative. In reality it is

Introduction Tree roots growing under driveways, lifting sidewalks, encroaching on foundations, or spreading across a lawn are among the most frustrating property problems homeowners face. The immediate impulse is to cut them. But cutting tree roots without understanding the consequences can turn a landscaping nuisance into a hazardous tree or a dead one. This guide

Introduction Pruning is one of the most misunderstood practices in tree and landscape care. Ask ten homeowners what pruning means and you will get ten different answers. Some think it means cutting a tree back to reduce its size. Some think it means removing dead branches. Some use “pruning” and “trimming” interchangeably. The actual definition

Introduction Some trees are worth saving even when they have structural weaknesses. A mature live oak that has provided shade and character to a property for fifty years, a specimen tree with significant sentimental or landscape value, or a tree that would cost thousands to safely remove and replace are all candidates for structural intervention