What Is A Certified Arborist and Should You Hire One For Your Landscape Redesign?
Many homeowners put a lot of thought into designing their home's interior, but not much into the outdoors. However, if you think about it, your outdoor landscape is the face of your house; the interior comes later.
Designing an outdoor landscape takes knowledge and experience. Not everyone has the insight to undertake a landscape redesign project on their own. And since trees make the most significant part of your outdoors, it would be better if you get a trained tree professional - a certified arborist - to help you with the job. With services from an arborist, you can make the most out of your trees to elevate your landscape and keep the trees healthy.
What Is An Arborist?
An arborist, or an arboriculturist, specializes in the cultivation and management of individual trees, shrubs, and vines. They're also apt at diagnosing, treating, and preventing tree diseases.
What Is A Certified Arborist?
The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) offers certification for arborists to mark their knowledge and experience. ISA has set high criteria, including 3-years of full-time experience to sit for the exam and continuing education to withhold the certification.
ISA isn't the only authority that offers certification.
ASCA (American Society of Consulting Arborists) certified arborists also exist, with a minimum of 5-years of experience and a 4-year degree in arboriculture. No matter which certified arborist you choose, you get a seasoned professional who understands everything to safely and responsibly manage your trees.
What Can An Arborist Help You With?
When redesigning an outdoor landscape, there are plenty of things involved, including clearing the land, choosing the trees to plant around the property, and caring for them to help them thrive. That’s where professional advice from a certified arborist can be valuable beyond your imagination. So what will their services include? Here’s a list of aspects of your outdoor landscape redesign project that an arborist can cover:
Tree Removal
Although cutting down a tree is always the last resort, it's sometimes necessary. A damaged or infected tree that cannot be treated or poses damage to the property will need to be removed. An arborist can help you decide whether the tree is still viable. If removal is necessary, the arborist can also provide tree removal services.
Land Clearing
If you want to make space to build a patio or a BBQ corner, an arborist can help you clear the land in an environmentally responsible and safe way.
Pruning
If you decide to keep some, or all, of the trees on your property while redesigning it, a certified arborist will prune them to improve their appearance, growth, and health. They’ll ensure that the trees are in good shape, without invading or overshadowing your garden.
Planting Advice
Once they’ve helped you select the right varieties for your landscape, they’ll also help you plan when, where, and how to plant them. They can accompany you to the local nursery to pick the plants and help you plant them back at your property. Having skillful hands plant your garden, you can be more confident that the trees will flourish.
Tree Selection
Which trees will work best for your region? Advice on the native varieties and whether it's feasible to go for non-native species, together with creating a suitable environment for their growth, are some of the insights that you can expect from a certified arborist. In addition, they'll also help you choose the kind of trees that are best for privacy, shade, or protection from harsh winds.
Garden Health
A certified arborist can help you ensure your trees' health and prevent them from diseases or pest problems. They can also diagnose tree problems and make recommendations on how to go about the treatment.
Site Inspection
Besides managing trees, arborists can also take a look around your space, judging the kind of soil, drainage, and space that's available. They can help you identify the kind of trees that will thrive in the space and soil you have, together with helping you build a better home for your new trees.
Emergency Care
If a tree has become hazardous to the property due to storms or other problems, you can contact an arborist for emergency tree care. They can respond suitably to eliminate any underlying risks and reestablish a safe environment for you.
Should You Hire A Certified Arborist For Your Landscape Redesign?
Certified arborists don't just have years of experience in arboriculture; they also keep their skills and knowledge up-to-date with modern technologies to maintain their certification. With a certified arborist to help you with a landscape redesign project, you get a professional with the right skills, experience, and know-how to prepare your land, select trees, plant, and maintain them.
Now, you can choose to do it all yourself. However, without the experience and qualification, it's hard to have knowledge of the aesthetic, technical, and legal aspects of positioning and maintaining trees on your property. A well-maintained landscape developed by a certified arborist can pay off in future years by adding value to your property, preventing costly damages, and keeping up the curb appeal.
So should you hire a certified arborist for your landscape redesign? While the final decision is ultimately your own, it's definitely worth an investment. Having a certified arborist design your outdoors can ensure you have a safe, appealing, and comfortable garden that you can take pride in.
Conclusion
Outdoor landscaping can be a daunting task, especially if you’re new to it. Take a step back and take advantage of the fact that there are professionals for the job. A certified, reputable arborist can offer it all to create your garden into a perfect retreat for winter or summer mornings.
If you are looking for trusted and reliable professionals for tree services, I recommend HomeAdvisor. Spend less time researching and comparing quotes by getting multiple estimates from contractors in your local area with just one platform. Plus, they need to be licensed and insured to be able to join and are paying for your business, which means they'll be eager to earn it!
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