On a cold Saturday in December, my co-worker Cheo and I were pruning a large black oak at Charles and Pat Bennett’s house in Prince William County, Virginia. Having a conversation with Mrs. Bennett, she revealed to me the black oak was last pruned in 1991 by Bartlett. With so many years as a Bartlett customer, I was curious to know more about Mrs. Bennett and her experiences as a Bartlett customer.
What is your favorite tree or shrub on your property?
Our favorite trees are our weeping Japanese maple with its bright red fall foliage and our styrax (Japanese snowbell) with its delicate spring blossoms.
How many years have you been a Bartlett customer?
Our trees/shrubs have been well cared for by the Bartlett team for 24 years (since 1991). In 1987, we had our dream home built in Virginia’s Prince William County near Bull Run in a moist pocket of woods where Canadian hemlocks thrive (along with ferns and moss). We are surrounded by towering 80’ – 100’ tall oak trees and hemlocks.
What Bartlett services have you had done on your property and why?
Our long-term relationship began with the need to remove tree limbs overhanging our new home. We wanted an arborist to prune the trees because they would take care not to damage the trees. As expected, they did an excellent job. They also inspected our trees and recommended sub-surface fertilizing for a few of the oaks to help them recover from construction stress, as well Gypsy Moth spraying for some specimen trees we had planted and finally annual horticultural oil spray for wooly adelgid for the many hemlocks on our property. Bartlett was (and probably still is) the only tree service that has equipment that can spray 100’ tall hemlocks. As we expanded our landscaping, their services expanded to keep our plants healthy – a real challenge in our moist environment. Their annual inspections of our trees/plants revealed problems before they caused serious damage. Our annual spring, summer and fall plan now includes: a spring hemlock horticultural oil spray for wooly adelgid, sub-surface fertilizing, foliage treatment to all our junipers to help suppress diplodia tip blight, systemic soil treatment to all trees/shrubs near the house to help suppress Phytophthora root rot and black root rot, bark treatment for various trees to help suppress bleeding canker and borers, a summer systemic soil drench treatment to hollies, laurels, boxwoods, pieris, and crepe myrtle to suppress sucking insects, and a summer treatment of releasing live neoseiulus predaceous mites on our boxwoods to help suppress pest mites. In December 2014, they pruned two large oak trees near the house to remove dead and diseased wood. One tree was also structurally pruned (limbs removed from the canopy) to reduce the canopy’s weight. They also installed a supplemental support cable to the leader which was reaching towards the house to limit branch movement further reducing the risk of branch failure. Finally, in 2015 they will begin applying an herbicide treatment to our driveway (cement pavers) to control moss and weeds.
There are many tree companies to choose from, why have you chosen Bartlett for tree care?
When we first started our tree service, we looked into other companies for comparison purposes and learned immediately that no other company had equipment that could handle spraying 100’ tall hemlocks. Also, it is very important to us that the products used to treat our plants be environmentally friendly. Not only are Bartlett’s products environmentally safe, but they also use environmentally safe practices. For example, they perform systemic treatments of flowering shrubs after the plants flower to protect the bees and use live predaceous mites on our boxwoods to control pest mites. We are very satisfied with the quality of care provided by Bartlett and have recommended them to others.
Is there anything else you would like to share with others about your experiences with Bartlett?
Bartlett has excellent staff and a low turnover. Every year, our plants are cared for by the same staff who know our trees/shrubs well. When our trees/plants are happy, we are happy.
