Link: http://www.embarkservices.com/newsdetail.php?id=36

Press Release: Embark Services Launches a New TCIA Award-Winning Website Dedicated to Arbor Education and Client Stewardship

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 3, 2011-Houston, TX- Embark Services, a landscaping and arbor care service provider located in Houston, Texas, has recently launched a new website designed to raise understanding of the Arbor industry as well as inspire arbor stewardship with its clients. This initiative, led by Embark Services President Jeff Schroeder, is using state-of-the-art, interactive Web technologies to create an online community where visitors can deepen their knowledge of the Arbor industry and how it is tied to their individual community. The new website was recently named Winner of the coveted “2010 TCIA Professional Communications Award” by the Tree Care Industry Association.

TCIA evaluated all entries on the overall appearance, content quality, adherence to ANSI and OSHA standards, and their success in achieving the company’s marketing and communications goals. With almost 60 entries, TCIA was impressed with the website’s dedication to Arbor Education and overall client ease of use. Amy Tetreault, Marketing & PR Coordinator of TCIA, explains “Embark Services website features much more information than the average tree care company’s website. This website is a valuable resource for consumers looking for tree care information”. The website also includes the Embark Services Blog and RSS feeds where visitors can go to stay up-to-date on the latest local events that affect the Arbor Community. Visitors can also access Arbor Care content and participate through Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

For more information on Embark Services, please visit www.embarkservices.com.

Link: http://bit.ly/hDcL58

Posted 2/4/2011 5:08 PM CST

Being an avid nature lover and self-proclaimed "tree hugger", I have been looking for a website that would give me some good tips and tricks for dealing with my lovely trees and landscaping, especially during this crazy weather (since when does Houston freeeeeeeze?). So, in my lookings about, I came across an awesome site that does way more than I have been able to find out there. www.embarkservices.com gives me all sorts of green tips and up-to-date info on weather and how to protect my pretty trees and shrubs. Me, being the sometimes cynic, had to do my due diligence of how "relevant and valid" these people are. Turns out, they just won the award for best website from the Tree Care Industry Association...pretty cool, I think. So, I have vowed to share the info with all of my tree hugging friends out there....read on dear lovers, read on!

Link: http://embarkservices2-px.rtrk.com/blog/blogs/

As the winter season changes the look of your landscape, beauty can still be found with trees. Though often hidden during the growing season, a tree’s beautiful bark finally comes to center stage in the winter.

To keep your garden as attractive in the “down season” as in the growing season, try incorporating a tree with unique bark patterns into your landscape. Try planting a tree near a path so you can appreciate the grain up close, or create a beautiful focal point in an underused area of your yard. Either can add a new dimension of interest to your winter landscape.

The American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), shown below, has smooth gray bark with vertical ripples twisting the length of the trunk. Also called musclewood, is usually a small shade tree but can be planted in full sun if given enough moisture. This tree’s wide range—from Quebec south through Mexico—makes it a promising addition for many American gardens.

Cinnamon clethra’s (Clethra acuminata) name comes from its beautiful tan and cinnamon-colored, peeling bark, shown below. Though summersweet (Clethra alnifolia)—cinnamon clethra’s spreading cousin—is the more popular of the two species, it is cinnamon clethra that has the distinct advantage of forming a single clump or small tree. As an added bonus, it has the same fragrant mid-summer white flowers as summersweet. Unfortunately, it is only available to those gardeners who live in USDA Hardiness Zones 6-8.

For the southeastern U.S., river birch (Betula nigra),—found naturally from the Great Lakes south to Florida and Texas—is better adapted to survive in their gardens. Birch species prefer full sun and moist soils, but could tolerate some shade.


Also great for the southeastern U.S is the Natchez crape myrtle - As with many of the widely-grown crape myrtle trees used in landscaping, this plant is a hybrid derived from crossing Lagerstroemia indica with Lagerstroemia fauriei. Although originally from Asia, Lagerstroemia is naturalized in the southeastern U.S. The bark peels off attractively, much like that of birches, adding winter interest.

Species which have wide growing ranges also have immense variability between regions. When researching the possibilities, go one step further to ensure your new tree is as cold hardy or heat tolerant as you need it to be. Make sure to consult with a certified arborist to ensure that you are making the right choice for your landscape.

Keep in mind, local genetic material which is already more adapted to your region will be less stressed and, therefore, more disease resistant. Buying locally, you will also be helping to preserve and maintain the biodiversity of your local population.


Check out the Embark Tree and Landscape video below on planting trees!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8RjRWVA6rg&feature=player_embedded

Link: http://embarkservices2-px.rtrk.com/blog/blogs/

As winter deepens, homeowners and property managers are advised that tree failure is a major cause of property damage. An ice storm or high wind can cause a cracked tree to fail under its own weight.

“Homeowners worried about trees falling and damaging property should call a professional arborist in for an inspection,” advises Tchukki Andersen, staff arborist with the Tree Care Industry Association. Andersen notes that trees are designed to withstand storms, but all trees can fail – and defective trees fail sooner than healthy trees. A sound tree becomes potentially dangerous when the tree’s woody structure is weakened by one or more defects. During storms, pre-existing defects predispose trees to failure.

“To a professional arborist,” notes Andersen, “defects are detectable signs that a tree has an increased potential to fail.”

One of the major warning signs of tree failure is a visible crack. Cracks form when the load exceeds the capacity of the stem to withstand the load. The vast majority of cracks are caused by improper closure of wounds, by the splitting of weak branch unions, or by flush-cut pruning. Cracks can occur in branches, stems or roots. The wood behind the crack may be sound, decayed, or missing (cavity). Several types of cracks can be found in trees and, like other defects, the severity of cracks ranges across a spectrum.

Vertical cracks run with the wood grain along the length of the tree and may appear as shear cracks, inrolled cracks or ribbed cracks. Horizontal cracks run across the wood grain. Shear cracks, a type of vertical crack, become hazardous when they go completely through the stem and separate the stem into two halves. As the tree bends and sways in the wind, one half of the stem slides over the other, elongating the crack. Eventually the enlarging crack causes the two halves of the stem to shear apart. A shear crack always has a high risk of failure. An inrolled crack, also called a ram’s horn, has margins that curl inward on each of its sides and forms inrolled bark and wood. An inrolled crack is formed when a wound does not close properly. Serious decay is always associated with an inrolled crack because the crack margins rewound the tree each year, allowing decay to spread rapidly. Inrolled cracks often generate other cracks in the same stem segment. Trees with an inrolled crack, advanced decay, and another crack all in the same stem segment have a high risk of failure.

A professional arborist can determine the potential for failure by measuring the shell thickness in a few locations around the tree’s circumference, determining the width of the crack opening and looking for the presence of any other type of crack. Ribbed cracks are created as the tree attempts to seal over a wound. Margins of the crack meet and mesh but are reopened due to tree movement or extremely cold temperatures. Thicker annual rings are created in order to stabilize the developing crack at the location of the crack. This forms the ribbed appearance over a period of many years. A ribbed crack has a high risk of failure when associated with another crack or with extensive advanced decay.

Horizontal cracks run across the grain of the wood and are formed when loading in the tree’s crown pulls wood fibers apart. They are rarely found because they develop just before the trees fail. Horizontal cracks are a sign of imminent failure in leaning trees.

What can you do?
Cracks are hazardous when they compromise the structure of the tree by splitting the stem in two or when another defect , such as internal decay and a crack, do not provide enough sound wood in the outer shell to support the tree. The presence of multiple cracks and decay indicates a very defective tree.

Find a professional
A professional arborist can assess your landscape and work with you to determine the safest course of action. Contact one of Embark’s TCIA Certified Arborists today!

Link: http://embarkservices2-px.rtrk.com/blog/blogs/

You may think that the approach of the end of the growing season means you can stop worrying about the trees in your landscape. Think again! Fall is one of the best times to examine the safety and health of your trees, say tree care experts. Why? With the leaves off, cracks, defects, and deadwood are easier to see. Also, with winter storms approaching, hazards should be removed now – before they damage property.

“Most trees can be pruned year round,” says Tchukki Andersen, staff arborist for the Tree Care Industry Association, “And certain operations are easier to do in the fall, when dead branches are easily seen and removed.”

Some homeowners worry that arborists will not be able to determine deadwood on a tree when the leaves are off. “On the contrary,” says Andersen. “This is the best time for an arborist to locate deadwood by looking for changes in color, fungus growth, cracks, and other symptoms that can help them make this determination. Since the leaves are off, the view of the entire tree’s architecture is clear and a thorough check can be performed.”

Pruning is much more than the simple act of sawing off limbs. Proper pruning is an art based on scientific principles of plant physiology. At its most basic level, pruning trees involves removing damaged, dead or structurally weak limbs, which will improve a tree’s health and reduce the chances of personal or property damage caused by falling limbs.
Professional arborists have the capability to make the tree safer and more attractive by pruning live growth as well. Proper pruning encourages growth, increases flower and fruit production, improves plant health, repairs damage and helps add aesthetic appeal to a tree. Pruning at the right time and in the right way is critical, since it is possible to kill a tree through neglect or over-pruning.

How can a homeowner know if an arborist will prune a tree correctly?

“Ask the arborist if they prune according to the American National Standards Institute standard for tree pruning, which is called ANSI A300,” says Andersen.

This standard requires that the recommended use of certain tools, cutting techniques and pruning methods be followed, and sets the standard definitions for terms the arborist will use in your estimate. Properly written work estimates for tree pruning should be written in accordance to ANSI A300 standards.

In addition to the information given on the work estimate, ANSI A300 sets some guidelines for basic pruning practices that arborists should follow.

If arborists are adhering to the ANSI A300 pruning standard, they:

Will not leave branch stubs
Will make few or no heading cuts
Will not cut off the branch collar (not make a flush cut)
Will not top or lion’s tail trees
Will not remove more than 25 percent of the foliage of a single branch
Will not remove more than 25 percent of the total tree foliage in a single year
Will not damage other parts of the tree during pruning
Will not use wound paint
Will not prune without a good reason

What can you do?

Homeowners who would like a professional arborist to assess their trees should contact the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA), a public and professional resource on trees and arboriculture since 1938. It has more than 2,000 member companies who recognize stringent safety and performance standards and who are required to carry liability insurance. TCIA has the nation’s only Accreditation program that helps consumers find tree care companies that have been inspected and accredited based on: adherence to industry standards for quality and safety; maintenance of trained, professional staff; and dedication to ethics and quality in business practices.

Call Embark Tree and Landscape, Texas' First Tree and Landscape Company Accredited by TCIA today at 713-462-3261 to schedule a FREE estimate for your tree care needs.