Tree Maintenance for Property Managers

Types of Tree Maintenance Services

Tree maintenance services cover several different areas of tree care, including:

• Emergency Tree Services: You can't delay tree removal when trees and debris fall on your commercial property. Emergency tree services remove all hazards and ensure you remain compliant with all state and city laws.
• Tree Inspection: Trees are threatened by infestation, disease, and damage that impact their integrity, structure, and health. Regular inspections take a preventative approach to identify issues before severe damage occurs.
• Risk Assessment: An ISA-certified arborist can assess your trees and provide an arborist report to help guide important decisions about your landscape assets.
• Treatments: Treatments prevent disease, pests, and pathogens that infest and kill trees.
• Tree Care: If your trees show signs of disease, tree care diagnosis and treats issues to keep your trees healthy.
• Trimming and Pruning: Trimming and pruning prevent weakness and overgrowth that can cause safety and liability issues and make your commercial property appear neglected.

Pruning and Trimming

Tree Health Assessments

Unfortunately, trees are prone to infestation, disease, or damage that impact their health, structural integrity, and appearance. Regular inspections and tree health assessments spot symptoms so arborists can provide treatment to keep trees healthy and strong. In addition, health assessments throughout a tree's life cycle ensure preventative measures are in place to avoid serious issues.

During a tree assessment, an ISA-certified arborist examines the entire tree to look for signs of vulnerability to disease, as well as existing conditions affecting the tree's overall health, such as:

• Pests
• Bacterial or fungal infestations like Shot Hole Fungus, Fire Blight, or Black Sooty Mold Fungus
• Diseases
• Bark or trunk defects
• Soil issues

With regular checkups, you can take a proactive approach to prevent issues while reducing the risk of the problems spreading within the tree or from tree to tree.

Benefits of Regular Tree Maintenance

There are many benefits of regular tree maintenance for your commercial property, including the following:



• Protecting the property from damage
• Reducing the risk of liabilities related to neighboring property damage and personal injuries
• Helping to maintain concrete surfaces on the property by reducing the risk of tree root infringement
• Improving healthy tree growth to contribute to a thriving canopy
• Ensuring trees add to property values instead of reducing them
• Keeping the property safe for tenants and visitors
• Compliance with local vegetation management laws and regulations
• Reducing landscaping costs by investing in preventative maintenance
• Increasing tree lifespan to avoid the costs of tree removal and planting
• Reducing the risk of spreading disease to the entire community, maintaining a healthier town canopy
• Reducing energy costs by providing shade to your commercial building
• Supporting soil health for the rest of your property landscaping
• Improving water retention for your property landscaping
• Helping to reduce foundation erosion
  

How Property Managers Can Implement Tree Maintenance

Assessment

Have an arborist assess your trees and categorize them based on the following:

1. Immediate Needs: Trees require immediate attention due to severe damage, their impact on your property, and the hazards they present.
2. Problems: What trees need work but do not present an immediate threat?
3. Routine Maintenance: A schedule for pruning, trimming, and other recommended treatments for all trees on the property based on the species.

These categories ensure trees receive the required care to keep them healthy, attractive, and strong.

General Landscaping Needs

Budget

Risk Assessment

Your plan should also address all possible liabilities to help justify your spending to property owners. For example, explaining how removing certain trees and replacing them with healthier, less risky trees helps reduce liabilities. You can also show how certain investments are necessary to keep things more manageable in the future. Risk assessments also consider how trees might lead to liabilities related to personal injuries. Pointing out potential insurance and liability issues ensures your budget covers preventative measures to reduce these liabilities.

Maintenance Tasks and Accountability

Accountability is an essential element of tree maintenance for property managers, ensuring all maintenance areas are handled. Your maintenance plan breaks down tree maintenance tasks daily, weekly, monthly, and annually. It also defines responsibilities to ensure nothing gets missed. For example, if you can manage the daily or even weekly tasks yourself to help save money, this must be included in the plan and reflected in your costs.