Tree Service FAQs

When you are looking for tree services, quality, reliability and experience are three key factors to explore. Great Western Tree Care has 20 years of experience in the industry and provides the full range of services from (tree pruning) (tree removal), (plant health care), (lawn care), (tree planting), (tree support systems), and stump grinding. Contacting your local forester or county extension office can be helpful tools when searching for a professional tree service. Look for professional certifications and licenses and, most importantly, experience and reputation. It is also important to look for a tree care company with an active and aggressive safety program. Great Western Tree Care employees are trained in modern tree service safety and employ the most up to date safety technology and industry tools. Our employees are trained and licensed to look for and treat for pests and diseases. It is very important that any tree company you choose to do business with have all the correct insurance in place and should be available to answer your questions about any of these issues.

Let us know if we can help. CALL NOW

Tree services are very dangerous and should only be performed by a professional Tree Care Company. Liability insurance is important because it protects you, the homeowner, and your property from potential risk and damage. Many homeowners don’t know that if you hire a tree service that is uninsured and an accident occurs, the insurance company is coming after you for medical costs. Workman’s compensation insurance protects tree care professionals while they are working on a job. When you are seeking a tree company it’s perfectly normal to request proof of comprehensive and General liability insurance from the company before any work is started. If you have any doubts, call the insurance carrier for verification. A tree company that is insured will have no problem providing you proper documentation.

Check out these links to better help you understand the importance of making sure the tree care company you hire is not only covering their butts, but yours as well.

• https://www.pennlive.com/life/2021/09/this-is-the-most-dangerous-job-in-the-most-dangerous-industry-study says.html
• https://accidentbriefs.tcia.org/

Reasons for pruning include:

• To Improve the overall structure: Tree pruning for structure will create a strong tree that will require less maintenance as it matures and make it less susceptible to failure or storm damage.
• To remove dead, dying, diseased, or broken branches: This will help promote healthy growth and eliminate sites that promote insect breeding, decay, and a range of diseases.
• To thin appropriately by removing crossing/interfering branches and co-dominance: Proper branch spacing will allow sunlight to penetrate the interior of the tree and wind to flow through the tree minimizing the risk of failure during storms.
• To reduce long heavy branches: With our wet heavy snows it is important to minimize the potential for branch failure due to storm damage.
• To mitigate risk: Often, older mature trees that were neglected can pose serious hazards to people, homes, power lines, etc…
• To provide clearance: Trees planted close to buildings or structures, overhanging sidewalks and streets, and near power lines can be pruned to provide adequate clearance.
• To promote flower and fruit production: Often, flowering and fruiting trees are pruning incorrectly, which can slow production and make them more susceptible to disease.

We understand, fully, that trees for the most part take care of themselves. Often, they are planted and forgot about for years, until they become a problem. In an urban environment tree must be pruned because when they do become a problem it can lead to property damage, home damage, and even injuries to people. Colorado weather is unpredictable. Storms can rip apart trees quickly and very efficiently. A good pruning program from a certified arborist can help reduce the potential risks and develop strong trees.

CALL today for a free consultation from a certified arborist.

Here is a link for the DIY homeowner that shows good basic pruning practices.

• https://www.treesaregood.org/treeowner/pruningyourtrees

Verify an Arborist certification

• https://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist

A Certified Arborist is an individual who has knowledge about tree pruning, rigging applications, plant health care, tree  planting, tree biology, soil properties, and safety and related technical matters.

To become a Certified Arborist, you must have been in the tree industry or related industry for a minimum of three years and pass a difficult test on the practices  of arboriculture given by the International Society of Arboriculture. Great Western Tree Care has multiple arborists on  staff. It is important to hire tree care companies that hold this certification. Arborist must continue to educate  themselves and obtain 30 CEU’s “continuing education credits” every 3 years. If they let their CEU’s lapse they must re take the exam.

It is common that tree workers will call themselves Arborists when they are not. Those individuals might be skilled at  specific one or more tree service operations, but it’s unlikely they are a well rounded tree care company. To verify an  arborist certification, click here.

This is a very difficult question to answer without visiting the site and putting eyes on the tree. So many factors come into play when determining the cost of tree removal.

Factors to be considered:

1. Location of the tree.
2. Size of the tree.
3. Are there targets that could get damaged during removal?
4. Is there pedestrian traffic?
5. Is there good access to the tree?
6. How long will the removal take?
7. Are there powerlines in play?
8. Is special equipment needed?
9. Is the tree safe to climb?
10. Is it a simple of technical removal?

With all these factors to be considered it is pretty much impossible to answer the question "how much does tree removal cost?" It's impossible to even put an average cost to tree removal. If it's simple it could cost between $200 - $1000. If it is tricky or difficult it could cost substantially more. To give a little perspective, I have seen a tree cost $25,000 to remove.

Not too much and not too little.

Most tree care companies will tell you that the general rule of thumb is 10 gallons for every inch of diameter every 5 – 7 days. Honestly, that response is an easy way for a tree company to satisfy the customers question without knowing what they are talking about, or they are not willing to take the time to explain in greater detail.

The correct answer is it differs depending on soil conditions. Clay soils that lack any king of microbiome will not allow water to drain vs. sandy soil that will not allow water to settle. It also depends on how much soil oxygen is available.

The only way to figure out how much water your trees need is to perform saturation tests. Testing can be tricky so it’s always better to consult with an arborist. A quality tree care company will have a supplemental watering program that can help get things dialed in.

Tree removal is not only dangerous and difficult in some cases but if not done by experienced arborists or tree workers it is also hazardous to your property. There are of course the obvious reasons such as limbs hitting or damaging your house but there’s many other factors to consider.

For example, are there power lines, cable lines, phone lines under the tree? Are there fences, walkways, flagstone, decks, and planters? Do you have a lawn that could be damaged or garden beds in the area that could be smashed?

With all this to consider, YES, your property could be damaged during a tree removal. This why it is important to hire a tree company that is qualified to get the job done safely. Do your homework and ask the tree company for proof of general liability and workman’s compensation insurance. If they carry it, they will have no problem sharing it with you.

Our arborists and tree experts are fully equipped to safely handle any removal situation, and most importantly we put you and your property's well-being first. In the event something goes wrong and there is damage to your property, we will fix it, no questions asked.

Meet our Crew

Early leaf color change is a sign of stress. What kind of stress is the question. There are multiple factors that can cause leaves to change color early. In Colorado these include:

Nutrient Deficiencies

• Iron
• Calcium
• Potassium
• Manganese
• Magnesium
• Phosphate
• Carbon Dioxide

Drought stress

• Lack of water
• Naturally occurring
• Homeowner not giving it enough.
• Loss of water vapor = heat stress

Insect Damage

• Sucking, piercing, and chewing insects
• Mite damage

Other

• Branch is dying back (common on maple)
• Herbicide damage
• Bacterial damage
• Fungal damage

If you notice your trees leaves changing color, early contact us for an assessment. CALL NOW Great Western Tree Cares Arborists are qualified to diagnose what stressors are causing the issue and how do you best fix it.

Often it can be obvious that your tree is dying. It doesn’t take someone one with an engineering degree to know that if there are no leaves on a branch in the middle of the summer, it’s likely that branch is dead. But does that mean that your tree is dying? The answer is no. However, if all your neighbors’ trees in the hood have leafed out in the spring and one of your trees is completely barren of leaves, it’s most likely dead. It is always better to contact a tree service when diagnosing the health of a tree. It could be possible that the tree is hazardous and needs a tree risk assessment done before making any decisions. We’re here to help, CALL NOW

What a homeowner can look for to tell if their tree is in trouble or already given up the goat:

• No leaves on the entire tree
• Areas of the tree have no branches.
• Bark on the trunk is cracked or peeling off.
• Mushrooms at the base of the tree
• Large conks “wood decay fungi” growing out of the wood.
• Exit holes from insect attack.
• Frass “looks similar to sawdust” at the base of a tree or in the branch collars.
• The leaves are changing colors in the summer.

It is possible that Emerald Ash Borer is already in your tree. The most recent update from Denver Forestry and Colorado State Forest Service is in 2020 is was located in Arvada and 2022 in Thornton. Click here to see the latest map of where  it has been located.

The reason I say it is possible that EAB is already in your tree is because it can be in a tree for 2-3 years before it shows  itself. I’ve asked some of the top entomologists in the state and some of the brighter minds at Denver forestry how far it  has spread, and they always tread lightly, because they don’t know with any certainty.

The saying is once EAB shows up in an area is “How far is EAB from my neighborhood…one truck load.” That’s how it got  to Colorado. Someone from Michigan decided to go camping in Colorado and didn’t think we had any firewood here, so  he brought his own Ash wood to burn.

What you must know as a homeowner that has Ash trees on your property is…It is inevitable that it will be in your tree  one day and if the trees that are left untreated will likely perish. It is important to protect your Ash trees now as a  preventative against attack. Trunk injections with Arborjet Inc. product TreeAge R-10 need to bee done once every 3  years. The cost of preventative service is nothing compared to the lost and cost of losing your tree(s).

Let us help you with pest management, that’s why we’re here. CALL NOW

Yes, 100% yes!

Magnesium Chloride is what is used in Colorado as a de-icing agent. Trees do need both nutrients to grow but high concentrations of one or the other can have adverse effects. Read more in depth from Colorado State Extension on the actual effect of road deicer and your trees.

I have heard good stories about products that tree care companies have tried to re-condition saline soils. Personally, I have always thought that treatments would be counter productive because even if the soil could be de-salinized during the growing season, the roads will be salted again throughout the winter.

Run-off from road salts should always be considered when looking at locations of tree planting.

Yes, weed killer can most certainly damage or kill your trees and shrubs. Most herbicides on the market have nasty chemicals in them that number one homeowners shouldn’t really be allowed to purchase and number two if used incorrectly destroy a landscape. Unfortunately, lawn care companies are usually who the blame falls on. It is always a safer bet to use a tree service company that provides lawn care service.

Quality tree service companies that provide quality and safe lawn care that Great Western Tree Care is happy to recommend if you like to shop local.

• Preservation Tree Care
• Autumn Tree and Lawn

I am tired of seeing herbicide damage to our customers trees and shrubs because lawn care companies are unwilling to pay a higher cost for products that DO NOT harm plants. This is the main reason that Great Western Tree Care has implemented a lawn care division. We do not sacrifice quality for increased revenue. We will be applying safe products that will not damage soil biology and surrounding vegetation.

This is a great question. Over the past five years we have paid attention to what species are doing better than others.

Recommend:

• Maple: Highland Park, Rocky Mountain Glow, Slate Street, Rugged Ridge, Emerald Queen
• Elm: Accolade, Patriot, Heritage
• Oak: Bur, Street Spire, Northern Red
• Flowering: Radiant Red Crabapple, Indian Magic Crabapple, Spring Snow Crabapple, Chanticleer Pear, Russian Hawthorne
• Pine: Ponderosa, Pinon
• Spruce: Hoopsii, Engelman
• Other: Plains Cottonwood, Tulip, Hornbeam, Buckeye

Not Recommended:

• Maple: Autumn Blaze, Redpoint, Sienna Glenn, Fall Fiesta
• Elm: Princeton
• Oak: Columnar, English
• Flowering: Cockspur Hawthorne, Winter King Hawthorne
• Pine: Austrian, Scots, Vanderwolf, Bosnian
• Spruce: Norway, Columnar, Alberta, Colorado Blue
• Other: Locust (all), Linden (all), Hackberry, Coffee, Aspen, Birch

Planting along the front range is becoming more and more difficult. Heat indexes in the city often burn them and winter elements often desiccate them. Our soil, especially south of Denver is difficult to say the least. In Douglas County the soil has become a true enemy. If you are interested in tree planting, it is wise to hire a tree company that plants in house. Typically, they will have a certified Arborist on staff that is qualified to help you pick the right location and the right tree.

Step one in developing a healthy tree is planting it and unfortunately it is done incorrectly about 90% of the time. Great Western Tree Care has a dedicated planting division that would love to help. CALL NOW

Yes, we accept all major forms of credit cards. You can pay online when your invoice is emailed to you. We also accept checks and cash. No bitcoin

We also have the option for payment plans and financing for larger expensive jobs.

The software program we use Singleops makes navigating payment simple for our customers.