3 Reasons to Reject a Tree

We’ve narrowed down 3 reasons to reject a tree. We believe quality begins before we even plant the trees.

Starting projects off right always makes for better results in our opinion. It benefits everyone if we ensure that we only invest our time, money and effort into trees we know will perform. This way we don’t waste resources on trees that fail and customers get consistent, healthy trees every time.

The reality is that with every load of trees we receive there are going to be some that don’t meet our standards. Here are 3 reasons to reject a tree:

1. J-Root

Roots hook to a dominant side in a “J” formation causing trees to be unstable against severe winds.

2. Girdling roots

Roots grow in a circular trajectory eventually strangling the tree

3. Structure

Issues that cannot be fixed by pruning – for example, poor/no leaders, poor trunk taper, or poor aspect ratio.

Although it is possible to fix many of these issues with a few simple cuts, in extreme cases there is nothing we can do to make these trees pass our standards. Check out Dr. Ed Gilman’s set of standards for Burlap & Basket, Low Branched and High Branched trees to see what we’re striving towards.

These 3 issues are among the most common, but sometimes we get a load of trees with more serious problems…

Insects

e.g. “Scale Bugs”

These insects develop a waxy shell as they feed from plant cells. If it is only a small area of the tree that is affected, just scrub these guys off with a little elbow grease (Forest Service Department of Agriculture, 2011).

Disease

e.g. “Gall”

Gall root disease is a bacterial infection that creates swelling in plant stems and roots (RHS Gardening, 2019). Trees with Gall need to be destroyed in order to avoid spreading.

We do a thorough quality control check to make sure we avoid planting trees with these sorts of problems. By doing this we save ourselves and our clients the hassle of dealing with a less-than-quality tree. Your success is our success!