Hedges, stumps & more Going the Extra Mile
We can take care of your trees at any point in their lives—from planting to stump removal, and everything in between.
How does your garden grow?
We can take care of on-going tree maintenance and those once-in-a-while projects.
Planting Projects
Planting the proper tree in the proper place makes all the difference to your long term happiness with the tree. As tree specialists, we look at both the present and future life of the tree.
In tree selection and placement, we ask:
Is there a particular objective for the tree? (eg. shading a patio or privacy screening)
Will the tree have space to grow to its full potential while retaining its health and dignity?
We offer complete tree planting services, including consultation on proper tree species for the location and intended purpose, planting, mulching, watering and soil & root injection.
Hedges
Hedges provide lovely natural screening but they are certainly not low maintenance. If you look around on your next forest walk, you might notice the size and shape a cedar wants to be by nature.
We specialize in those hedges that are getting a little wild. We can help with:
restoring neglected hedges (a common request from new home owners)
reducing hedges to a manageable height
repairing snow damage
shearing your hedges annually (so they don't end up neglected in the first place)
Stump grinding
Our stump removal services include grinding stumps and roots to 6”-8” below ground level, spreading soil and seeding to grass, or grinding stumps completely in preparation for tree replacement.
Air Spading
Air spades use compressed air to remove soil from around a tree's roots without causing damage. This is a great option for:
Non-invasive inspection of roots around perimeter drains or heaving concrete (sidewalks, driveways)
Targeting specific roots for root pruning
Transplanting trees as bare root transplants to minimize the weight of the root ball
Loosening compacted soils for aeration, deep watering, adding nutrients, and encouraging additional root growth.
New Developments
Developing a site to build a home or business in previously forested areas can:
Expose once-protected trees to wind/weather conditions they aren't used to
Expose residents to hazard trees.
In addition to assessing for and mitigating hazard trees, our team can help you blend your landscape into the new forest's edge after development. This helps to minimize future failures, allows remaining trees and understory to adapt to their new environment, and to re-beautify after a major clearing. We focus on minimal impact to understory and specialize in wildlife trees.
Need advice and expert opinion?
Grow Tree Care has over 65 years of collective arboriculture experience.
The quick answer is Yes!
The longer version: We can certainly recommend some good candidates for the space based on species' size or other factors (shade tree, privacy, fast growing, flowering, environmental tolerance, etc.) but we will leave the choosing of specific cultivars to you.
Ideally, the fall or the spring is best, though shearing through the winter is ok as long temperatures are mild.
The main benefit of shearing in the Spring (March-May) is that you can shear hard for containment/to gain as much space as possible while maintaining greenery, knowing that as the summer growing season begins you'll soon have a vigorous response to repair what was done. This is the best time for hedge restorations/harder reductions as it will minimize the time of looking at an unsightly situation while waiting for the hedge to respond with new growth. In addition, for those who prefer the look of a more natural hedge, hedges sheared in the spring will grow out and look fuzzy for the rest of year till the following spring.
The benefit of shearing in the Fall (September-November) is in making hedges smaller over the winter months to reduce the likelihood of snow damage. Hedges that are wide or have poor internal structure are prone to snow damage and should be sheared in the fall. As well, if you like a formal looking hedge, shearing in September-October will give you almost 9 months of crisp hedges before they begin to grow again the following June.
The worst times to shear are in the summer (when it is really hot) and in the winter (when it is really cold). If it is a very light shearing, the damage done will be fairly temporary but we would definitely not recommend heavy shearing or restoration work during this time.
It depends on what you need.
Usually when we take on stump grinding/removal, the main focus is the core stump and visible surface roots. We leave the majority of the root canopy that is underground to return to nature via decomposition unless they are causing harm.
If you have a tree that is outgrowing the space it is in and concrete is lifting or cracking, the first thing you should do is collect more data. This means you need to do some digging and see if you can identify the actual root that is doing the damage. Once confirmed, the roots can be pruned to stop the lifting or cracking.
Depending on the situation, you may want to consult an ISA arborist for more information. Some arborists are very familiar with digging around roots and have specialized equipment like an air spade to help explore and prune as necessary. Depending on the proximity of the tree and size of roots that need to pruned, the tree may need to be removed (though it’s surprising how often that isn't necessary).
Once the roots have been pruned, the concrete can be ground down to minimize the trip hazard.
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