Why Your Trees Deserve More

Your trees are part of your home. They’re also home to others.

Think about the tree you would miss most if it were gone. Maybe it shades the driveway when you get home in August. Maybe it is where your kids learned to climb, or the oak that made you fall in love with the house in the first place. Now imagine the same yard without it. The patio feels hotter in the afternoon. The view from the kitchen changes. The spot where everyone used to sit suddenly feels exposed. A tree can shape the way you live at home so quietly that you only realize how much it gave you once it is gone.

We believe trees deserve care because they’re living things sharing our space. Their value reaches beyond a property line or what someone might pay for the house. A tree can mean shade for a neighbor, shelter for a bird, and a familiar part of the street for everyone who walks past it.

Care for Your Trees Like They’re Part of the Family

In a way, they are. They are there for birthdays, backyard cookouts, and ordinary evenings outside. They may have been there before you moved in, and with the right conditions and care, they may still be there for whoever calls the place home after you. Caring for them is a responsibility that comes with having them on our property. They can’t move away when the ground is paved over or ask us to stop cutting their roots. We have to consider their needs before making changes around them.

You already do this for your pets. You give your dog food and water, pay attention to changes in its behavior, and take it to the veterinarian for professional care. You want it to have the best chance at a healthy life. Your trees deserve that same willingness to notice and respond. Pay attention to how they’re growing, protect the space their roots need, and get qualified help when something changes. Having an arborist who knows your trees makes that care easier. You take your dog to the vet. Give your trees a Certified Arborist who can look after their health, too.

Here in Greater Houston, the difference between a shaded yard and one in full sun is easy to feel. Shade can be what makes the back porch usable on a summer afternoon or gives your kids a comfortable place to play. Trees also give birds places to shelter and help define how your home feels from the street, the porch, and the windows you look out of every day. Planting new trees matters a lot, but keeping the ones that are already here matters more. A young tree needs years to provide the shade, shelter, and presence of a mature one. We owe established trees a fair chance to stay healthy and remain part of the places they’ve helped shape.

What Plant Health Care Can Do

Even one properly selected plant health care treatment can be one of the best things you ever do for a tree that needs it. Plant health care, or PHC, begins with understanding the tree, its growing conditions, and what may be affecting its health. Depending on its needs, care may include managing damaging insects, correcting a nutrient deficiency, improving root zone conditions, or addressing watering problems. The birds and beneficial insects living there matter, too. Any treatment should have a clear purpose and take that surrounding life into account.

If a tree has been struggling, it’s worth finding out why. There may be a treatable problem or a change in its care that could help. Getting an answer gives you a chance to help a tree you want to keep. Some concerns can be addressed with a single intervention. Others require follow-up treatments, maintenance changes, or continued monitoring. The right approach depends on the tree and what it needs. You don’t have to wait until a tree is in trouble. Start with one visit, learn what it needs, and take it from there. Preventive care is part of looking after a healthy tree, just as it is for a pet.

Who Prunes Your Trees Matters

Pruning is an important decision about your tree’s future. Every cut creates a wound, and where that cut is made, how much foliage is removed, and when the work takes place can affect the tree for years. Improper pruning can cause lasting damage and shorten its life. Disease prevention is part of that responsibility. Some plant diseases can spread between susceptible trees on contaminated pruning equipment. Sap, sawdust, and other plant debris can carry pathogens, even when a blade appears clean. Proper cleaning and disinfection help reduce that risk, especially when working with diseased trees.

Choose an ISA Certified Arborist with experience caring for your tree species and a clear understanding of proper pruning and disease prevention. Certification demonstrates a foundation of tree care knowledge and requires continuing education. Experience, judgment, and the crew’s actual work practices matter as well. Hiring someone to work on a tree means trusting them with its future. We believe that calls for care and restraint. Sometimes the responsible recommendation is to remove less foliage, postpone pruning, or leave the tree alone.

Pay Attention Before There’s a Problem

Caring for a tree starts with getting to know what is normal for it. How full is the canopy in spring? Where does water collect after heavy rain? Has anything changed near the trunk or in the surrounding yard?

• Look up. Notice new dead branches, thinning foliage, or changes that seem unusual for that tree and season.
• Look down. Pay attention to the soil around the tree, especially where vehicles, equipment, or repeated foot traffic pass. Keep mulch away from direct contact with the trunk.
• Plan around the roots. Before adding a patio, installing drainage, or changing the grade, speak with an arborist so tree protection can be part of the plan.
• Ask what the tree needs. A professional evaluation can help determine whether treatment, changes to growing conditions, or monitoring would be most useful.

When you’re making plans for your yard, give your trees a place in those plans. Their growing space matters, even when keeping it means adjusting where a patio, driveway, or garden bed goes.

The Kind of Tree Care We Believe In

At Eric Putnam BCMA Inc., we believe caring for trees starts with taking their needs seriously. We look at the tree, the soil and roots around it, and what has changed on the property. We listen to what you’ve noticed and explain what we find, so you can make an informed decision about its care. We want to help people keep trees healthy where they can, give struggling trees appropriate care, and make room for the next generation. That starts at home, with the trees already growing around you.

A tree doesn’t have to belong to us forever for its future to matter. Schedule an arborist evaluation with Eric Putnam BCMA Inc. to learn what your trees need and how we can help.