Pruning by amateurs can leave trees in trouble

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Except for a few imperfect limbs, the 50-year-old twin oak trees towered flawlessly over Helen Brisson's back yard. She enjoyed their wide shade, which always made it seem 10 degrees cooler in summertime, and the way the branches swayed with their pointy foliage in the breeze.

Then one spring, only two weeks after she had hired a bargain door-to-door pruning service, leaves that had just sprouted began falling from one of the trees, then the other. Eight years and thousands of dollars later, only one oak remains, and Brisson is still paying — in tree treatments every few years — for the mistake.

The problem, she has learned, is common: Tree pruners without professional training often damage trees more than they help them. Arborists say that finding proper tree care can be easy if homeowners keep a few pointers in mind.

For the most part, homeowners can prune the branches on small trees, such as ornamentals, if they research the species. But for higher-up projects or disease treatment, expert help is the way to go.

"If you have to leave the ground as a homeowner," said arborist Brad Hatfield of VanBooven Tree Care in Kansas, "that's probably when you should call someone."

Bret Cleveland, owner of Urban Tree Specialists in Kansas City, Mo., suggests contacting three legitimate companies and comparing the estimates.

To guarantee legitimacy, verify that workers are trained professional arborists. Cleveland said clients should check to make sure that tree trimmers are certified arborists according to the the International Society of Arboriculture and not merely ISA members. Also, request verification of workmen's compensation insurance to avoid liability for any potential injuries on the property.

Professional arborists can determine what jobs are necessary, and they know how to complete them without damaging the trees, Hatfield said. Accidents, such as what happened with Brisson's oak trees, occur when workers use improper techniques, such as wearing climbing spikes that expose trees to diseases.

Sometimes, Cleveland said, picking a certified tree trimmer means paying more and waiting longer. More exhaustive maintenance over pools, gardens or buildings and on multistem trees, like sugar maples, or on extra hard trees, can add 10 percent or 20 percent.

For diseased trees, Hatfield says, qualified expertise is essential to ensure a full recovery. "The wrong chemical could hurt the tree," Hatfield said.

For personal safety, said Don Hendrickson, president and owner of Arbor Care in Kansas City, removals should be left to the experts. Recently, he was called in to clear a tree that an untrained company had tried to remove; workers had torn down power lines in the process.

"I knew immediately these boys didn't know what they were doing," Hendrickson said. "They didn't make their cuts right. I was surprised somebody didn't get killed."

In general, people can reduce the amount of care and number of removal projects on their property by carefully selecting new trees and places to plant them, said landscape architect Robert Whitman of Kansas City. Different tree types have different tolerances for sun, wind and water, and they have unique space requirements.

This story was originally published October 2, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Pruning by amateurs can leave trees in trouble."