A little over a year ago we bought a home with a lot of marginal oak trees clustered too close together in spots around the property. One of these spots had two trees leaning out and over the homes roof, with one of them lifting a concrete walkway right next to the house. We needed an arborist to assess their risk to be compliant with the town's requirements for removal, and we called out Tree Shepherds.
Let me start by saying that Randy F is one of the most thoughtful arborists we've ever done business with. He came out and assessed all the trees on the property, produced a quote for removal along with a letter to the town explaining the risks, and trimming and care for all the other trees on our property. It was a lot of work, the trees had been in their "natural" state for a long time. Don't get me wrong that's fine, but they were not healthy due to the crowding and abundance of dead snags, bugs, etc.
After receiving permission for removal from the town, we had Tree Shepherds out to do about half our tree trimming and care at the same time. This was mostly due to cost. The workers were fantastic, and did an amazing job cleaning the yard. Communication was perfect.
Before time came to get the other half of our trees taken care of, a more "budget friendly" company came knocking at our door. For less than half the cost they took care of the other half, and I deeply regret it. A year after that, you can literally look at our trees and see which were cared for by tree shepherds. They're flush, healthy, and vigorous. The other companies heavy cut focus and lack of focus on trimming for growth really shows.
Now one of those trees cared for by the budget company is on it's last legs. We're nursing it with the help of tree shepherds, and perhaps nothing would have been able to save it regardless of who trimmed it. But it's Tree Shepherds or no one for us from now on. I can't recommend them enough. Spend a little extra, get a lot more quality. read more