Friday 31 October 2014

Arborist/Utility Arborist/Production Climber
Four Positions Available

Arbortech Professional Tree Care Inc. is a progressive tree care company celebrating over 20 years of serving the Southwestern Ontario area, encompassing Grand Bend, Strathroy and London, from Lake Huron to Lake Erie.  The success we have achieved as a company is a direct consequence of the high standards our staff works to.  They are well skilled, trained and educated in the treatment of trees, holding qualifications such as ISA Certified Arborist, provincially qualified Arborist, Utility Arborist, Horticulturalist, or graduates of college arboriculture programs.

While education, training and skills are vital components of a successful company, the most important element is safety.  Without that we are nothing.

We are presently looking to fill four positions:

Climber/Arborist

Qualifications We Would Like to See:
Preference will be given to people with the following qualifications or those who are working towards them.
·         ISA Certified Arborist or Ontario Qualified Arborist
·         Graduate of arboriculture post-secondary program
·         Accomplished climber experienced in pruning and removing trees of all sizes
·         DZ driver’s licence with clean abstract
·         Good communication, interpersonal, organizational and public relation skills
·         Ability to work in all weather conditions

Must haves:
·         Positive attitude
·         Excellent work ethic
·         Drug free

If you would like to work with professionals in a safety oriented, well-equipped company please send your cover letter and resume to:

Fax:        (519)245-6983
Mail:      641 Wright Street, Strathroy, ON N7G 3H8

Want to know more about us? Visit our website:

Wednesday 30 April 2014

Small Trees for Urban Use
This is for information purposes only; Arbortech does not supply and install trees.
While all of the trees on this list have been selected by Arbortech staff for general reliability and availability, success of establishment will vary by site conditions, therefore, pick wisely, based on your own research, this list is a starting point.
The purpose of this list is to aide our clients in selecting trees for their landscape needs. With lots becoming smaller and houses becoming bigger, there is less room for landscaping. If more space is available, smaller trees allow greater numbers, thus more diversity within the landscape.
Select your plants carefully from the nursery when purchasing; choose well branched trees with straight unscarred trunks, with no broken limbs, well centered in the pot or root ball. Look for signs that the tree has been well cared for at the nursery.
In the following list, trees marked with an asterisk are generally quite durable but as with most plants, there are disease and pest problems associated with each. Learn what these are and watch for them. We have selected these plants to have a minimum of concerns under a wide variety of conditions.
The definition of a small tree for the purposes of this list might be considered as follows:
·         A woody plant consisting of 3 or fewer stems (usually a single stem)
·         No taller than 8 meters (25 ft.) in height at maturity (25 years) There is no limit to crown spread.
Root spread can vary greatly but the root volume will be roughly equivalent to that of the crown with most of the feeding roots in the top 30 cm (12 in) of soil.
For full development to take place, we must assume the tree(s) have an unrestricted growth area with good growing conditions and adequate water for “normal” development, away from pollutants and harmful conditions.
In no particular order:
Common Name                                                          Botanical Name
Paper Bark Maple*                                             Acer grisseum
Japanese Maple*                                               Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’
Serviceberry*                                                    Amelanchier canadensis
Eastern Redbud*                                               Cercis canadensis
Alternate Leaf Dogwood*                                   Cornus alternifolia
Kousa Dogwood*                                              Cornus kousa
Flowering Dogwood                                          Cornus florida
Cornelian Cherry*                                               Cornus mas
Witch Hazel (Shrubby)                                       Hamamelis virginiana
Sargent Crab Apple*                                          Malus Sarentii
Star Magnolia (and others)                                 Magnolia stellate
American Hornbeam/ Muscle Wood*                  Carpinus caroliniana
Fringe Tree                                                        Chionanthus virginicus                          
Smoke Tree                                                       Cotinus obovatus
Maidenhair Tree                                                 Ginko biloba ‘Jade Butterflies’
Japanese Tree Lilac                                           Syringa reticulata ‘Ivory Silk’
Dwarf Hinoki Cypress*                                       Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana’
Limber Pine                                                       Pinus flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’s Pyramid’
Mugo Pine                                                         Pinus mugo
Japanese Yew                                                   Taxus cuspidata ‘Capitata’
Hick’s Yew                                                         Taxus media ‘Hicksii’
Dwarf Alberta Spruce*                                        Picea glauca ‘Conica’
Hedge Maple                                                    Acer campestre
Amur Maple                                                      Acer ginnala
Crimson Cloud Hawthorn (and others)                 Crataegus laevigata ‘Crimson Cloud’
Bradford Pear                                                   Pyrus calleryana ‘Chanticleer’
Globe Norway Maple                                         Acer platinoides ‘Globosum’     
Oak-leaf Mountain Ash                                       Sorbus x hybrid

Some taller pyramidal trees (narrow growth habit)
Weeping Copper Beech                                     Fagus sylvatica ‘purpurea pendula’ “Purple Fountain”
Maiden Hair Tree                                                Ginko biloba ‘fastigiata’
Pyramidal English Oak                                       Quercus robur f. fastigiata
Black Cedar                                                       Thuja occidentalis ‘Nigra’


Each of these trees adds a dimension to the landscape, leaf texture, flower, fall colour, fruit or a combination of elements. 

Tuesday 25 March 2014

Spring has sprung?

Spring is finally making an appearance and we will all be spending more time in our yards. This is a great time to review your landscape structures, trees and shrubs to evaluate them for condition after the winter.

Look up at your trees, you can see much more of the branching before the leaves develop. Broken, hanging, or dead limbs should be fairly evident. To identify dead limbs look for bark of a different texture/ colour, fine twigs missing or the bark may be falling off.

Hazards need to be dealt with first. Broken, hanging or dead limbs need to be pruned off for safety. Proper pruning cuts will allow the sealing over of wounds by the tree if the wounds are not too large. Wound dressing or paints provide no advantage except perhaps for appearance. It has been proven that many wound treatments available on the market do more harm than good. Fresh wounds will darken with weathering in fairly short order anyway. Nothing will stop some wounds from weeping but they will eventually dry up and stop. The weeping of sap is not harmful to the tree.

Structural problems can be addressed at this time too. Poorly formed crotches, multiple stems, rubbing limbs or limbs growing through the center area of the tree are all issues that should be corrected to reduce future problems. Training of young trees at this time can pay huge dividends later. With a good start and early training a tree will have fewer problems later in its life. Problems left untreated can set a tree up for failure during wind or ice events; good branch structure and distribution on the tree helps prevent this sort of thing from happening. Often this training takes only a few minutes as opposed to hours and many more dollars some years later,
 to correct a situation.


If you have questions about the health or condition of your trees please contact us. We can supply trained people to evaluate your situation and make recommendations. There may be a fee for this consultation work depending on the scope of your needs. We will be glad to provide a free estimate for our services, including pruning, tree removal, deep root fertilizing or other treatments.