Master Arborist Consultations, Tree Health & Care

Tree Care Tips from Certified Arborist Tiana George

Tiana is an ISA certified arborist and one of the primary consultants for Tree Shepherds. With ongoing education in horticulture, she is a huge advocate of organic gardening and tree ...

by Krista White • August 26, 2020August 26, 2020

Texas Trees

The Five Best Shade Trees for North Texas

Trees add value to any landscape. They offer shade in the hot summer months and can significantly lower your air conditioning bills. And as any homeowner or business owner in ...

by Krista White • July 10, 2020September 3, 2020

Tree Health & Care

How to Water Your Trees During the Summer

Watering trees during the summer can be tricky. To avoid underwatering or overwatering, you need a well-thought-out irrigation plan.

by Krista White • July 2, 2020September 1, 2020

Trees & Insects

Emerald Ash Borer – It is Here and Active in Denton County

Background The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has been discovered in Denton, County. The ISA Certified Arborists want to make sure that our customers and the community at large have accurate ...

by Scott Geer • May 17, 2020July 20, 2020

Master Arborist Consultations, Tree Health & Care

Questions to Ask Your Tree Care Company

1. Do they have insurance? A. General liability to protect your property if it’s damaged. There are many hazards in tree work, do not hire someone without the proper protection. ...

by Scott Geer • March 3, 2020July 23, 2020

Tree Health & Care, Trees & Insects

Fall Webworms – They’re Back in Town

After being mostly absent for the past 3-4 years, the Fall webworm is back in town and much more noticeable this year. They never really left completely, but the population ...

by Scott Geer • September 17, 2019July 30, 2020

Tree Health & Care

Post Oaks and Hot Weather

In the summertime when the weather is hot… Mungo Jerry, “In the SummerTime” I was 16 when Mungo Jerry’s song, “In the Summertime” came out in 1970. What a great ...

by Scott Geer • July 11, 2019July 20, 2020

Tree Health & Care, Trees & Insects

All About Bagworms

Bagworms are tiny little caterpillars that turn into moths. They feed on trees such as Junipers, red cedar’s, arborvitae, Leyland Cypress, and other evergreen type trees.

by Scott Geer • June 14, 2019July 20, 2020

Tree Health & Care

What’s wrong with my Photinias?

With the mild, humid weather North Texas has had recently, Red Tip Photinias have been hit hard with a fungal infection called Entomosporium Leaf Spot. “Leaf Spot” for short. Leaf ...

by Scott Geer • May 14, 2019June 24, 2020

Tree Health & Care

Are Your Trees Planted Too Deep?

Trees that have been planted too deep are, unfortunately, a very common problem in the urban landscape. How can you tell if your tree is planted too deep? First, a ...

by Scott Geer • April 9, 2019July 20, 2020

Tree Health & Care

Root Flare Exposure – Do It Yourself

The most important physiological factor in the health of a tree is the status of the Root Flare area at that base of the tree. It is very important that ...

by Scott Geer • April 8, 2019June 24, 2020

Tree Health & Care, Trees & Insects

Why are My Crape Myrtles Black?

That unappealing black coating on your tree is actually a harmless byproduct of a bug! The black substance is called sooty mold and grows on the waste product of an ...

by Scott Geer • February 9, 2019July 27, 2020

Trees & Insects

Emerald Ash Borer and Your Ash Trees

You may have heard on the news that the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is now in North Texas. Some of these reports will sound alarmist and are designed to generate ...

by Scott Geer • December 14, 2018July 20, 2020

Master Arborist Consultations

What is a Tree Worth to Your Home?

Investing in tree care may seem like a discretionary expense that you really cannot afford.  However, trees have a large economic impact on their owners and the communities in which they ...

by Scott Geer • October 18, 2018July 20, 2020

Trees & Insects

What’s That Sticky Stuff Coming From My Trees?

Honeydew is a sticky, sugary liquid that… is insect waste. Insects called aphids (and some scale species) suck on plant sap and secrete a liquid we all know as honeydew. ...

by Scott Geer • October 10, 2018June 24, 2020

Tree Health & Care, Watering Trees

How to Water Your Trees

Please take a second to watch this short video on how to water your trees! These tree watering tips are the generally accepted practices in the tree care industry as ...

by Ethan Geer • September 4, 2018June 24, 2020

Tree Health & Care

Bradford Pear vs. the Wind: and the Winner is…

Just a short video that one of our customers happened to capture of their Bradford Pear in a strong wind event. The tree lost. This is what happens to Bradford ...

by Scott Geer • February 9, 2018July 20, 2020

Master Arborist Consultations, Tree Health & Care

Why a “Y” is Not Good in a Tree

Trees have an amazing ability to keep themselves upright for years, sometimes hundreds of years. However, a structural flaw called co-dominant stems can cause a tree to prematurely fail.  Co-dominant ...

by Scott Geer • October 25, 2017July 20, 2020

Tree Health & Care

What’s Happening to My Live Oak Trees?

This spring (2020) has seen almost every Live Oak in Denton County infected with a disease call Oak Anthracnose. This sound like a terrible disease, but it is really just ...

by Scott Geer • May 17, 2017July 20, 2020

Tree Health & Care

Topiaries Gone Wild!

Topiaries are not a maintenance free plant! I see many topiary plants in front of houses that are not maintained and after a few years, they revert to the plant’s ...

by Scott Geer • May 9, 2017July 20, 2020

Tree Health & Care

The End of Every Bradford Pear

The Bradford Pear is a cultivar of the Callery Pear which was collected from China in the early 1900s.   They have been planted widely as yard and roadway trees in ...

by Scott Geer • April 19, 2017July 20, 2020

Tree Health & Care

Fire Blight and Ornamental Pears

Every few years, we get a lot of Fire Blight in ornamental pears in Denton County. The disease is caused by a bacteria and enters into the tree’s tissues via ...

by Scott Geer • April 17, 2017July 21, 2020

Tree Health & Care

High winds? Inspect Your Cedar Elms (and All Trees) Afterward

With the recent storms in Flower Mound and Lewisville, it is an important to inspect your trees for limb cracks. Often a limb may crack in a storm, but not ...

by Scott Geer • April 10, 2017July 21, 2020

Tree Health & Care

Cedar Elm- A Great Tree, But Prone to Splitting

The Cedar Elm (Ulmus crassifolia) is a great tree for Denton County. It is native and lives well with the other two common native trees ? Post Oak (Quercus ...

by Scott Geer • April 4, 2017July 21, 2020

Tree Health & Care

Italian Cypress – Normally a Hardy Tree, But Real Problems in the Winter and Spring of 2017

The Italian Cypress is a beautiful upright evergreen that grows in a straight column up to 20 to 25 feet or more. It thrives in North Texas, but can have ...

by Scott Geer • March 18, 2017July 21, 2020

Texas Trees

Live Oak – A Wonderful Tree But Not Always the Best Choice

The Live oak is not native to Denton County, but thrives exceptionally well in our area. It is native across the southern gulf coastal plain over into central Texas. There ...

by Scott Geer • March 6, 2017July 21, 2020

Tree Health & Care

The Biggest Weeds in Your Turf Lawn are Your Trees

I try to impress on people that when they are trying to control weeds in their lawn that the largest weed is the trees. The same chemicals that control dandelions, ...

by Scott Geer • May 31, 2016July 21, 2020

Texas Trees, Trees & Insects

What Has Happened to My Hackberry Trees?

The unusual weather this year has set up conditions for a very obscure moth to come out of obscurity and defoliate many of the hackberries in southern Denton County. The ...

by Scott Geer • September 19, 2015July 21, 2020

Texas Trees

Beautiful Post Oak in Flower Mound

Sometimes developers, the city, and the homeowners get it right. This park is just south of 1171 on Regency Park Court. The “Lone Tree” is a gorgeous Post oak that ...

by Scott Geer • September 8, 2015July 21, 2020

Trees & Insects

Little Round Bugs Invading My Patio and House!

This is not necessarily tree related, but it is something I haven’t seen before at our yard and house in Highland Village, Texas.  Over the past few days, thousands of ...

by Scott Geer • May 11, 2014July 21, 2020

Texas Trees, Trees & Insects

Brown Bumps On My Oak Twigs?

What are those little brown humps that cover my oak twigs? These are lecanium scale insects. The lecanium scale can be debilitating to the host plant, rarely killing it.  The ...

by Scott Geer • April 29, 2014July 21, 2020

Texas Trees, Trees & Insects

What’s that “White Fungus” on My Post Oaks?

As we get into August this year, the post oaks in Denton County are showing a lot of white on their leaves.  This is not a fungus or serious disease ...

by Scott Geer • August 4, 2013July 21, 2020

Texas Trees

Oak Tassels – what are those worms on my driveway?

Newly emerging leaves on a red oak in the spring with male flowers This spring season has brought with it an abundance of oak flowers or “tassels.” I have noticed ...

by Scott Geer • April 3, 2011July 21, 2020

Tree Health & Care, Watering Trees

Water – Trees Can’t Live Without It, But It Can Kill Them

We are having a dry spring so far and the trees need water as they begin the spring flush of growth. It would be a good idea to give the ...

by Scott Geer • March 18, 2011July 21, 2020

Tree Health & Care

Pruning – You Get What You Pay For

In our daily lives, we buy and sell many things. We all want value in these transactions and the adage, is still true, you get what you pay for? This ...

by Scott Geer • March 18, 2011July 21, 2020

Tree Health & Care

My Palm Trees are Dying! Part II

Well, for the second year in a row, we’ve had very hard freezes. Last year (2010) we saw temperatures down to around 15 degrees and about 50% of the Mexican ...

by Scott Geer • January 27, 2011July 21, 2020

Texas Trees, Tree Health & Care

Tree Care in Lewisville and Flower Mound – A bit of East Texas

Pine trees are not native to the Lewisville area, yet they have been planted extensively, and in some areas do quite well. Slash Pine and Loblolly pine are the large ...

by Scott Geer • May 10, 2010July 21, 2020

Tree Health & Care

Pruning Trees in the Spring – Not the Best Time

Spring is here! And we are noticing that our trees are budding out and starting to grow. We now notice them, while in the winter they seemed so docile, now ...

by Scott Geer • April 2, 2010July 21, 2020

Tree Health & Care

Pruning & Trimming- It’s Tree Surgery

Why do we prune trees?  Don’t they do well by themselves without our help? We ask a lot of the trees that grow in an urban environment.  Space is limited, ...

by Scott Geer • March 19, 2010July 21, 2020

Tree Health & Care

Staking Trees at Planting Time – It’s Important To Do It Right

Trees are often staked with guy wire or straps at planting time.  Sometimes this is necessary due to the size of the tree in relation the root ball and the ...

by Scott Geer • February 13, 2010July 21, 2020

Tree Health & Care

My Palm Trees Are Dying!

I am hoping that it isn’t true, but unfortunately, it may be. Palm trees are native where it rarely freezes, and we experienced a very hard freeze on January 9-10, ...

by Scott Geer • January 25, 2010July 21, 2020

Tree Health & Care

Root Flare Coverups – A Great Video Tutorial

One of my mentors is Tyson Woods, an arborist in Dallas who has been caring for the trees of Highland Park for a long time. He created this video a ...

by Scott Geer • January 19, 2010July 21, 2020

Master Arborist Consultations

Tree Care Professionals – Is Your Tree Care Company Certified?

The marketplace is full of companies and individuals that offer to perform work on your trees.  How do you know which company has the education and experience to provide professional ...

by Scott Geer • January 18, 2010July 21, 2020

Tree Health & Care

Mistletoe – ‘Tis the Season to Remove It

Now that the leaves have dropped from your deciduous trees, you may notice Mistletoe infections in the crowns.  Even though we like mistletoe as a Christmas and holiday decoration (or ...

by Scott Geer • December 28, 2009July 21, 2020