I just had a local tree farm come and plant 9 trees on my property and they buried the root ball with the support cage around the ball. I know that not optimal, but the holes between the wire is large enough that I don’t think it’ll cause an issue.

What I’m angry about is they did not remove the nylon ropes tied around the base of the trees holding the cage together. These were wound around the base of the trunks several times and were extremely tight. I had to dig them all up and carefully slice them away with a utility knife so I did not damage the trees.

Is it fair for me to withhold some of the remaining payment because of this? I paid over $1500 for these guys to come out and do this job. I feel like all 9 trees would’ve died in a decade if I hadn’t noticed. It just blows my mind a whole crew from a tree farm that does this daily could make this mistake.

This black walnut stands 12 feet tall now and it's probably about 8 or 9 years old. Is it too late to pick a leader? The left looks like the better one. It belongs to a buddy of mine and I hadn't seen it in 3 years or so.

Our backyard has this lovely tree in it, but has this…hole that I’m not sure what to make of. There’s water at the bottom of the hole. The tree otherwise seems to be great. It’s almost like two trunks merged up higher. I was hoping I could get more experienced eyes on it.

Fortunately it’s not near enough the house to worry about damage, though it may take out a fence if it falls.

Please ignore the power lines, it's an old neighborhood and an absolute mess. Thank you so much!

Took delivery of this 2” B&B Black Gum tree today. Working to expose the root flare before setting it in the hole. Does this look like a girdling root to others, potentially where it was grafted?

Is the root flare exposed enough?

Any/all insight appreciated!

I just bought this house and the maple in front needs to be trimmed. How much should I take off the top and the right side for overall health of the tree and safety?

There is a huge, amazing old tree that sits on the property line between my place and my neighbor's, and recently the neighbor has gotten nervous about it endangering a building on their property. I understand the concern, and we've been discussing what to do about it without any animosity, but the tree doesn't look like it's dying to me and I really don't want to see it go. I want to make sure it gets examined by an actual professional and all the options put on the table. So far the one person who's looked at it was "ISA Certified but not a cerrified arborist" - is that even a thing? If I have a certified arborist come out, what should I expect them to do as part of a proper inspection?

Our yard was 90% Ivy when we bought the house but dug it all out except for this space. I’d love to hang my hammock up on these trees but now poison ivy is starting to grow within the English ivy. My family is not actually reactive to poison ivy luckily. We’ve all touched it before being told and nothing happened. But I don’t want to risk a reaction. Can I torch the ivy off without damaging the tree?

I have no experience with bronze birch borer, but the scars on the lower trunk don’t appear to match up with their holes, so I’m currently thinking these might be wounds from someone who used spikes during a previous prune.

Will adding a catch basin and drainage pipe a couple mere feet from the critical root zone kill the tree? I'm assuming it wouldn't last long, either.

They're offering to do this as a "goodwill gesture" but we'll be responsible for all maintenance and upkeep indefinitely as they won't admit fault.

Absolutely perfect prune job, textbook.

Greetings, friends.

We have a mature sugar maple (unknown age) that has grown a considerable crack in the past couple of months. I started noticing it in August, and it has definitely widened even more since then. Arborist assessed it on Monday and provided a quote for a couple of options.

The photos:

1. Critter in the crack (Oct 2026) - just to catch your attention cause it's cute.
2. First summer we moved in back in 2023. No crack. Half the tree had been trimmed previously with a cable connecting the largest live limb across to the opposite dead limb. The arborist said back then that this was an older way of keep it balanced (same arborist who did the current assessment).
3. Aug 2026 - a dark line becomes noticeable at the base of the largest limb and down the trunk.
4. Sep 2026 - crack widens.
5. Oct 2026 - crack looks worryingly wider, with a new tenant in it.
6. Oct 2026 - no noticeable crack on the opposite side of the trunk
7. Oct 2026 - wide shot crack side
8. Oct 2026 - wide shot dead limb side
9. quotes - Option 1 30% reduction of branches; Option 2 tree removal.

We've decided to go for Option 1 - 30% reduction of live foliage-bearing branches. Cost was definitely a factor (partner recently retired and we just booked a vacation) but we also did not want to lose the tree. Option 2 would also mean additional costs for stump/root removal, and the area already retains a lot of water when it rains for a long period, so we would need to mitigate that by planting something that would soak up the water quicker or install a French drain.

What are your thoughts? Which option would you go for? There are a number of mature trees on the property (3 tamaracks, 2 pines, a birch, and another much larger sugar maple straddling the corner of 4 lots), but this is kinda the focal point in the middle.

Young mango tree is about 3 to 4 years old and growing well. I am in a zone where it cannot be planted in the ground, so I bring it in every winter. It has been in that same location all of its life and haven't moved it in a while.

I noticed a trunk damage (image 1) and added other pics to show size/health. It's about 4ft tall and is about the size of a quarter, maybe a bit bigger.

Any ideas of what this damage could be?

Thank you

Recently moved into my Mother’s house after her passing two years ago. I love this pine tree but noticing it turning brown. It is fall in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Is this normal or something to worry about?

I just noticed mushrooms on the trunk of my oak tree today. It’s my favorite tree in the yard.

Is this a sign the tree is compromised? I have pruning done every couple of years since moving in to remove dead or weak branches. It is fairly close to my house.

I get random mushrooms in my yard, but have never seen them on my oak tree before.

We have lived here for about a decade and this beaut has been here the entire time. It's always had this sideways crack. It seems to be getting darker? Somehow? Is it ok?

We’ve lived in this house for 5 years. Upstate South Carolina. Never seen this happen to this tree before. It’s otherwise healthy. Squirrels have taken to it the last few weeks and are absolutely chomping the living crap out of it. I can’t tell whether they’re eating the leaves or they’re doing this to take the twigs to another nest, but they have locked onto this tree. It’s making a mess all over my yard and now there are gaps all over the tree. Anyone seen behavior like this towards one specific tree and know what their main motivation is? There are dozens of squirrels so I don’t want to start trapping and putting out poison. Anything I can do to repel them from the tree?

Just as reference, I cleaned up the ground and pond completely yesterday, so this is just 24 hours of damage.

...because I told the young man who cuts my grass to stop cutting between the two oak trees in my backyard. There was a loose dead limb hanging in each tree, so 2 dead limbs. The trees are 50 feet tall and 20 feet apart and they constantly drop dead limbs in the area between them. They never drop dead limbs on the outside perimeters. But this is the first time I had actually "seen" dead limbs hung up in the trees before and it made me realize that those trees are too dangerous, for someone wearing hearing protection and operating a loud lawnmower or weed whacker, to cut between them.

A couple of years ago, I was sitting at my desk in the early afternoon with the window open and heard a "crack" and then, a split second later, a "thump" when a large limb hit the ground. So even on a beautiful, quiet, balmy day, there's no time to react.

So I think my twin brother's wrong that I'm behaving "just like a woman". Those trees are dangerous and I need to do something about it. My brother doesn't read books so I guess he's never heard of a "widowmaker".

I guess I just would like reassurance that I'm right about these trees and that I do need to do something about it.

PS: I'm ashamed that I didn't realize sooner how dangerous these trees are to the young man who cuts my grass.

PPS: My twin brother is a good man but I think he gets an attitude with his twin sister sometimes.

My parents front yard has a tree with these concrete edges. I want to remove them and just clean it up and make a tree surround. The concrete edges don’t look good to me and assume it’s not great for the tree. I’m not sure what kind of tree but would appreciate any advice. For some reason my father thinks it won’t be a good idea and wants to leave it.

Hi all, I hope this is ok to share - I've been making video supplements to the certification guide for a few years and wanted to share: https://www.youtube.com/@arboriststudyguide

Back when I was first getting going, I asked for some feedback here but otherwise have been fairly silent about it. I wanted to make sure I was going to keep it up, so now that I've put in 5 years I'm pretty sure I'll keep going!

The intent with the channel:

• Covers every term in the Arborists' Certification Study Guide
• Shorter videos (sub 10 mins), for intended busy tree workers + shorter attention spans
• Lots of real-life visual imagery from my consulting arborist work
• Accessible for non-arborists who want to learn about trees, but my comments are aimed towards the professionals

The caveat...although I use the Arborists' Certification Study Guide for the TERMS, I don't use their definitions and only glance over the chapter to see what it covers. I've found some of the info to be wrong, and frankly the terms are often not described well in the text (you have to look to the glossary). My info is based on other resources, like textbooks and reference books. For that reason, I would suggest my channel as a supplement, not a replacement.

If you know anyone who's interested in trees, or actively studying for their test, please feel free to share :)

Hi, I planted 4 emerald green arborvitae 1 month ago and a few look like they’re continually getting worse. They’re spaced appropriately and get lots of afternoon sun in Zone 5a. I’ve been watering every 3 or so days depending on rainfall. Photo 1 is 1 week after planting and the other two photos are from today.

What am I doing wrong? Am I just overreacting due to transplant shock or are they actually dying. Thanks for any advice

Hello everyone. A tree in my backyard has developed this fungus at the base. It’s been around 3 months and is growing. I have no idea what is causing it or how it can be cured. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I live in southeastern Pennsylvania.