How to best care for your trees, shrubs, and other greenery. Learn from our tree care specialists serving the Columbia Valley including Invermere and Golden, BC.
Heavy snow and ice, as well as frozen soil conditions, can damage trees and shrubs in residential landscapes. Even areas without major snowfall experience high winds and huge fluctuations in temperatures (common in the Columbia Valley) during winter. But homeowners can lessen the adverse effects of winter weather with preventive maintenance.
A Home Ignition Zone Assessment is a vital step in helping to identify hazards in order to reduce the risk of fire on your property. Green Leaf Tree Services has many years of experience providing prescribed FireSmart treatments for residential property owners in the Columbia Valley. Our in-house Local Fire Smart Representative can provide an assessment of your property or entire neighborhood. A detailed report will provide actionable steps for a property owner to start reducing their risk right away. FireSmart is not an all or nothing approach and can often be an actionable plan spread out in time in order to meet the recommendations. With wildfire seasons becoming longer and more intense the time to start preparing is now. Give us a call today to arrange a FireSmart assessment for any property in the Columbia Valley. We are experts at removing and pruning trees to meet the FireSmart guidelines and can provide our expertise to help you with your FireSmart project.
We have been receiving many calls from customers in the Invermere area about issues with their Spruce trees. Curling leaders on planted Spruce trees is a telltale sign of Pine Leader Weevil. Pruning during the active infestation Is your best method of control. Once you find exit holes you’re too late. Keep cutting to just above a branch whorl that is free of pests. After exiting your tree the adults overwinter on the ground nearby. In the spring the females climb the tree and lay eggs in the new leader. They tend to target smaller trees but have been found in trees up to 20 feet in our area. On going pruning in order to re-train central leaders is required in subsequent years. Call us if you have concerns with your Spruce trees and aren’t too sure what to do 250-341-7029
Exit holes of Leader Weevil
Green Leaf Tree Services Ltd prides itself on delivering excellent service and expertise to its customers, with the safety of our stakeholders as our cornerstone. Our stakeholders are not just our clients, but also our team, neighbours, families, suppliers, fellow industry professionals, and our home communities. We feel that it is our responsibility to limit the risk of exposure to COVID-19 for everyone by taking steps to reduce risk and limit contact while still providing the same excellent service our clients have come to rely on.
Because we work outside, arborists are at a low risk threshold for the spread of COVID-19. This is a result of the ability to distance ourselves from our clients and co-workers in the normal course of work, and we do not spend extended periods in close contact.
In order to further reduce our risks, we are implementing some new policy changes immediately:
Any employee may self-isolate if they feel they cannot practice adequate social distancing in the normal course of work, for whatever reason.
Employees are on a voluntary lay-off mode due to the lack of regular work.
Workers arriving on-site may take multiple Green Leaf Tree Services vehicles to ensure adequate social distancing and non-contact.
Hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes is provided in all work vehicles, and employees will be instructed on proper hand-washing techniques.
Clients will be contacted via phone or email, rather than at the door if possible.
Clients also have the right to decline our services should they wish.
Employees are being asked to practice social distancing and risk-reducing hygiene at home and to extend this to their families as well.
All of our policies will be assessed on a daily basis to ensure we are doing our utmost to protect everyone’s safety. We will continue to adapt our policies and practices to adhere to the Government's recommendations and will keep our clients notified of any major changes to our services.
Let’s all do our best to keep ourselves and each other safe.
Get Ready!
Site preparation for the fire season is crucial. Did you know that any kind of vegetation is combustible? Mature trees, shrubs, grass even your woodpile, are all potential fuels and can easily ignite! Green Leaf Tree Service is here to help you manage your property for fire hazards.
First Priority:
The first 10 metres of space around your home is your 'first priority'. A good fuel free space gives firefighters a chance to save your home from an advancing fire. Remove any shrubs, trees, deadfall or woodpiles from this area and keep your grass mowed and watered.
Second Priority:
From 10-30 metres out from your home is the second priority zone. In this zone, you need to reduce fuels by thinning and pruning so that combustion cannot be supported. Remove trees and debris that can spread fire upwards to become a fast spreading crown fire. Remove deadfall, thick shrubbery and mature trees that might provide the opportunity for a ground fire to climb up into the forest canopy. Once a fire crowns out, it's virtually unstoppable.
For more information check out BC's Fire Smart Manual.
According to Work Safe BC, there were over 150 tree work service fatalities last year. Tree work is serious business, which is why Green Leaf Tree hires certified arborists and tree fallers. Training and safety regulations are two factors that decrease a crew member's likelihood of injury. When a client asks us for a quote, the safety of our crew and clients is paramount. Proximity to power lines, structures, roads and environmental hazards are all factors when we issue a quote and complete a job.
Operating a chainsaw is dangerous enough on the ground, let alone at sixty- eighty feet high in the air! Our team members take a chainsaw course in order to be certified to operate such equipment. Our entire crew also takes an aerial rigging course so that they can safely climb and fall trees as well as execute a service that requires rigging in accordance with our insurance. These continuing education courses are also part of our overall business costs. When you receive a quote consider the amount of safety precautions and training that will go into your job. We know that our customers expect professional service that is safe and swift.
Factors Considered When Determining the Cost of a Tree Removal:
Most factors, to some degree, are tied with how they affect the amount of time that is required to complete the tree removal process.
More dangerous jobs require more time to complete; Trees that are in a poor location will require more time to remove, and trees that are above homes or near other structures often involve rigging (lowering sections of wood with ropes, arborist blocks and pulleys) which will require more time to remove. Anything that takes more time, costs more money. Also equipment costs come into play. Often there no other options to safely remove a tree other than employing the use of a crane which will also add a significant cost to the project.
Read MoreTree work is a highly specialized and dangerous job. Therefore, it is important to ensure that you hire a reputable tree service company with the proper insurance, expertise and equipment to get the job done safely and efficiently.
If you're in the process of looking for a local tree service to hire, here are some tips and factors to consider as part of your purchase process:
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Green Leaf Tree Services is now a service provider for Arborjet Inc., a world leader in tree injection technology. Please visit www.arborjet.com for more information. Give us a call and a Certified Arborist can make recommendations on what is best for your trees health.
Eco-Friendly * Cost Effective * Simple & Quick
Pruning a Willow tree at a historic site. One of the most common questions we field is when is the proper time to prune a tree. While this can be an important question, I believe the more important question should be, why are we wanting to prune the tree? Aesthetics, dead wood removal, clearance from structures or a reduction in size are reasons for pruning. It is best to keep in mind that pruning a tree can be very harmful if done improperly. It is best to seek the advise of an ISA Certified arborist when looking for consultation about the health and well-being of your trees. The attached picture is of a Weeping Willow we pruned at Kinsmen Beach in Invermere in order to remove deadwood and to raise the crown for clearance. Give us a call to have your trees assessed by an ISA Certified Arborist today. Beware of those claiming experience but no credentials as often poor experience leads to long term damage to trees.
Green Leaf Tree Services is a small family run business located in the Columbia Valley. We are trained and certified arborists who pride ourselves on providing the best possible care for our clients trees and properties.
We are constantly working to raise the bar on our services. If you have any questions or concerns about your experience, please let us know.
Golden BC: +1 250 344 0188
Invermere +1 250 341 7029
Kimberley/ Cranbrook: +1 250 420 0822
Toll Free: +1 888 431 8733
Vegetation management for utilities and highways
Consulting and Diagnosis
Golf course tree management
Tree Inventories and assessments
Consulting and Arborist Reports
Emergency storm and disaster services
Trail maintenance
