Whether you are looking for a simple definition or an in-depth explanation, you have come to the right place. In today’s blog post, we are going to answer the question “What is a tree surgeon?” with both short and long-form answers. As highly experienced and skilled tree surgeons ourselves, we are ideally placed to tell you all about this occupation and, in the process, lift the veil on the exciting world of arboriculture.
What Is a Tree Surgeon? A Concise Answer
For those of you looking for a short, concise answer, here it is. A tree surgeon is somebody who, in a professional capacity, takes care of trees. They perform a variety of arboricultural procedures, including pruning, thinning and crown reduction, on the trees under their care. These procedures are intended to encourage healthy growth but also to ensure that the trees they attend never become a danger to persons or property in their immediate vicinity. Some procedures may also be used to enhance the visual appeal of trees or to prevent them from blocking attractive views from the windows of nearby buildings.
Now let’s move on to take a more in-depth look at what a tree surgeon is and what they do on a daily basis.
If you came here looking for an in-depth explanation, covering all the main responsibilities of a tree surgeon, here is the part that you have been waiting for:
Assessments & Inspections
Tree surgeons spend quite a lot of their time inspecting and assessing trees, then analysing the data they have collected in the process. In this way, they are able to pinpoint areas of concern and help clients to address these areas before they become real problems. In addition to formal health assessments and inspections, a tree surgeon may be requested to complete risk assessments, pest and disease inspections, surveys to support planning applications and various other reports on the condition of trees and the risks they may pose. Most tree surgeons are able to perform a wide range of assessments and reports for both domestic and commercial clients.
General Maintenance
Tasks that come under the heading of general maintenance for a tree surgeon include pruning, crown thinning, crown reduction and related procedures. These procedures are normally carried out to ensure that trees remain happy and healthy, free of disease and able to thrive. However, they may also be performed for purely cosmetic reasons. Many crown reductions and pruning jobs are, in fact, performed in order to improve aesthetics: to make everything look neater and to maintain appealing views over neighbouring countryside. It is probably fair to say that assessments, inspections and general maintenance tasks take up the majority of the average tree surgeon’s time on a day-to-day basis but there are some exceptions. Some individuals may choose to specialise in certain fields, such as emergency call outs, in-depth forestry reports or insurance risk assessments.
Remedial Procedures
When a tree’s growth gets out of hand, remedial action needs to be taken to avoid future issues. An experienced tree surgeon will spend a significant amount of his or her time on such procedures throughout the course of their career. It may, for example, sometimes be necessary to remove certain limbs from a tree, to prevent them from damaging adjacent properties. Or, on another occasion, it could be that a tree is simply getting too big for its surroundings and action needs to be taken sooner rather than later, to ensure it does not become a nuisance. In either case, an experienced tree surgeon will be able to quickly evaluate the situation, suggest an appropriate solution and take care of it on behalf of their clients.
Emergency Visits
For most tree surgeons, emergency call outs only represent a small part of the work that they do on a daily basis but this small part can often be some of the most challenging and rewarding work too. Helping to protect valuable property from damage and people from injury is an extremely important part of being a tree surgeon but is something that happens occasionally rather than every day: something for which we should be very thankful! As we mentioned earlier, some arboricultural professionals choose to specialise in the provision of emergency response services to domestic and commercial clients but most do not. It is more usual for a tree surgeon to provide a range of standard services during normal working hours and a separate 24-hour, emergency callout service for those clients who require immediate assistance.
Consultancy Services
Highly experienced tree surgeons often offer specialist consultancy services to their commercial clients, helping them to manage forestry plantations, conservation areas and wooded areas more easily. How much time each individual tree surgeon spends on consultancy services every week will depend on their professional situation and personal preferences. Some tree surgeons enjoy this type of work so much that they specialise in it exclusively. Others, perhaps less enthusiastic about paperwork and lengthy meetings, prefer to minimise the amount of time they spend on providing consultancy services to commercial clients in their catchment area.
Other Services
Some, although not all, tree surgeons offer a range of complementary services, such as hedge trimming or lawn maintenance. They do this most often because it enables them to provide a more comprehensive range of woodland, parkland, commercial and domestic garden maintenance services. Many people are more likely to hire a firm that can handle all their grounds maintenance requirements rather than just one or two specific tasks. However, if we are sticking to the traditional view of what a tree surgeon is and the duties they perform, we can safely exclude these other services.
As a well-established tree surgeon, we are pleased to be able to offer all of the above mentioned services to our clients in North East Scotland. For all your arboricultural needs in the area, please do not hesitate to contact us by phone or email.
Our qualified team of experienced Arborists offer sustainable and cost-effective forestry and arboriculture services. For the long-term health and success of your trees. From small urban gardens, large estates and anything in between.