The Cost of Tree Maintenance — You Get What You Pay For

Photo courtesy of Digital Synopsis.

By Anna Thayer

Tree work is an expense that catches most people off guard. Since trees can increase property value, many people fall in love with the idea of having trees in their landscape. And there are so many things that you can do with trees on your property — create spaces to relax under a tree with chairs or hammocks or set up picnic tables and eat under the canopy. I was fortunate to have an awesome treehouse when I grew up that was built in a very mature Tangerine tree. It was great! The neighbors up the road have a tire swing in their tree. The list goes on…

Trees are not only known to increase your property value and bring comforts to your life, but they can also keep your home cooler in the summer by casting a nice shade over your house. They help with land erosion and they can also help break up wind shearing during bad storms. However, trees really need our help so they can live a long healthy life and keep doing all these amazing things for us.

Your trees need proper maintenance like pruning, dead limb removal, and crown cleaning. Sometimes you will need them to be elevated or even taken down. In all, this maintenance comes at a price. Just like you have annual expenses with your lawn care or your vehicle maintenance, you will also need to prepare for annual costs when it comes to your trees. Some people do not realize this and are shocked with the price. But there is a reason that tree care is expensive.

Working on trees is a dangerous job for the crew and the people around the location because it involves sharp instruments, climbing high into trees, managing gravity, avoiding electrical wires at times, and operating heavy machinery. To be fair, it’s worth the cost to find the right crew to handle your tree(s). If you don’t take care of your trees the proper way, you greatly increase the odds of experiencing damaging outcomes from limbs coming down or a tree falling during a storm. Have you ever seen what a tree can do when it falls on a house or a car? It is not pretty and it can be potentially deadly! The loss of a life is too steep of a price to pay. If you are lucky the tree falling over may not be fatal, but the damage to the structure will cost you. If there are bodily injuries, that will cost you too. Sometimes those bodily injuries will cost you for the rest of your life, so your best bet is to lower the risk and educate yourselves on how to properly maintain your beloved trees by hiring an Arborist.

Your Certified Arborist is a professional. They may have a higher cost than most uncertified companies, but they will give you precise advice, professional work, and knowledge on living with your beautiful trees. After all, an Arborist is a tree doctor and a tree scientist all in one. You wouldn’t ask your dentist or medical doctor what their best price is for your surgery. Heck, you wouldn’t do that with your mechanic either. Especially the ones you know and trust. I can tell you that for the most part, your Arborist has already calculated the best possible price they can give you. They want to be sure they are giving you a service at their best price so that you will begin to build a relationship between you and your trees. They want what is best for you both. They want that relationship to be strong so both you and your trees can live safer and healthier while enjoying each other’s qualities.  

Plan and budget for your tree care needs and have an Arborist come out to check on your trees yearly. Take their advice and have them work on your trees when needed. They are worth the money. My grandmother always told me that you get what you pay for. This is one of the areas that you do NOT want to skimp on.