Mortensen Tree Service

Ash, locust, and pine trees look so much better with dead wood removed and pruned where needed.

Mark Mortensen was great! My tree did not fair well with the massive heavy snow on April 28-29th. A huge portion had collapsed in the street and two other parts were threatening to fall both on my house and my driveway (not a pretty sight). My excellent neighbor had done some research on tree removal and gave me Mark's name as someone he might use for removing a tree. I am so glad my neighbor did the homework, because it helped me a lot. I called Mark and he came out during the storm (I would like to emphasize: during the storm!) and took a look at my tree. He understood my urgency to get the huge tree limb out of the street and carefully remove the limb threatening to crash into the house (this part was tricky for other reasons, too). He scheduled me in right away (I must have been one of the worst he had seen yet for this storm) and removed the tree on Monday, May 1st. He cut it low, removed everything, and it was done and cleaned up before I got home. I was (I am still) very grateful for the fast service and I would highly recommend him, especially if everything seems to all be going wrong!

When he deferred our project once due "to a storm" and the justification that our house wasn't threatened by downed branches and we could wait. I was gracious, but should have taken the hint and hired someone else. He didn't need or want the business. After several weeks of not hearing from him, I finally called and asked if he was going to do our job or not since we were running out of time with other contractors waiting on him. I asked if we could schedule a date for the work, which he declined since does not allow scheduling. He showed up the next day with 30 min notice instead. 2 of the trees went very well, however Mr. Mortenson oversold his capabilities when he bid our project and assured me that even though he doesn't do stump grinding our third tree wouldn't be a problem, he could get the stump low enough that we wouldn't need to and our landscapers could still build our design. So, after they finished the third stump was 15" above the ground... not even CLOSE to what we had discussed. I politely asked if that was as low as he could get it because it would not work for the design we had discussed when he bid the project and he lost his temper instead of answering me. I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt that maybe he ran into something he hadn't anticipated or got in over his head and that's why he left it so tall. However, he provided no explanation. I asked him if in his professional experience what options we might have to reduce it further (swallowing my pride and accepting that by hiring him we just ended with several hundred dollars in overrun in this project now). Could we burn it out? Grind it out? He responded by just telling me to learn to live with it and put a pot on it because that's what he would do. I asked again how could we make this work and still get the design we wanted. (As an "arborist", I assumed he might know of something) His answer "You don't. What you wanted was stupid anyway" Took my check and walked away. We had several bids for our job and we hired Mortenson because we believed that Mark was knowledgeable and professional even though he wasn't the cheapest. What we got was neither. His comments left me feeling like he knew he couldn't do the job from the beginning and took us for a ride for some easy cash. Both my husband and I regret hiring him. Things to know about Mortenson Tree: 1. Doesn't need your business, he has plenty already so don't expect to be treated like he values it 2. Doesn't allow scheduling in advance. Its on an on call basis only and he'll get to it when he does. 3. Does not do stump grinding - the advertisement is incorrect 4. While he may be a certified arborist he does not have the time or desire to share his expertise with you even when you are paying him.

great job, punctual, trees look much better

After arriving on time, even though it was a late Saturday afternoon. Mr. Mortensen assessed as to the health and possible removal of my tree. His advice was to neither prune nor remove the tree just yet. The risk of the tree falling over was low so we could keep it for the summer/fall season as it provides privacy. Also, this could give us more time to decide if we want to have the whole tree removed. He did caution us that the longer we wait the longer it would cost to remove the tree. I appreciated Mr. Mortensen's honest assessment, even if it meant he would not have a tree removal job. When I am ready to have the tree removed, whether tomorrow or in the fall, I will call Mr. Mortensen first.

I spoke with several tree services in my area and had recommendations from several co-workers. In the end I went with Mortensen Tree Service. Mark was knowledgeable, courteous, on time and professional. He not only came out to bid the job but ran the job the day of service. This is not always the case with other companies. I plan on having Mark back out this winter to trim my apple trees.

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I had several “middle-aged” trees needing serious attention: crabapple that had never been pruned, maples blocking walks and w/peeling bark from last year’s heavy spring snow, aspens needing to be cut down. Went onto Angies List and BBB to find tree services that were available in my area. From studying these providers it seemed to me that a single owner business with quality horticultural experience over many years would be a good fit. I called approximately 6 tree services and Mark Mortensen of Mortensen Tree Service, Inc. was the first, by over a day, to call to make an appointment even though it is a very busy time of year for this kind of business. He came to my home 2 days later. I expected a quick run around the yard, but Mark took close to an hour reviewing his qualifications and experience: horticultural and arborist certificates, business awards, and an extensive portfolio of his wok from extremely large jobs to small like mine. We walked my yard thoroughly and I was impressed with his approach of treating trees almost artistically: how they would grow in future years, which trees should have structured shapes, which should have an organic, flowing shape, etc... When he was finished my trees looked precisely as we discussed, none had been treated harshly, no surrounding areas had been damaged and all wood from the fallen aspens was removed, except a little for my summer fire pit. In fact, Mark was very kind and fertilized my trees without charge! I have asked Mark to return next year to deal with yet more aspens and I absolutely recommend him for his excellent work with and knowledge of all things trees. Thanks Mark.

We bought our house last summer from a family that hadn't taken care of the trees on the lot in at least 7 years. Mark came out personally and did a risk assessment of all the trees and made recommendations of which ones needed attention in order of priority. Mark spent time showing me his certifications, continuing education, insurance, and awards, as well as pictures of some of his past jobs. Hopefully he took pictures of ours because they look great! As a first-time user of a certified arborist, I was a little surprised at the cost involved, but we are very happy with Mark's work and wouldn't hesitate to hire him again. In fact, we plan on using him again as soon as we can get him back out to the house - he is a busy guy.

I had initially contacted Mortensen Tree Service to see about having an old silver maple in the front yard of the house that I had just bought trimmed. The tree had a lot of dead branches as it had not been kept up by the previous owners of the house, and given that it was one of the selling points of the house for me and my wife, we wanted it to look nice. Mark showed up promptly for the service consultation, gave a brief and enlightening description of his background, and then found out what I wanted done. Unfortunately Mark then gave me the bad news. The maple would have to be removed. He was forthright about it, that indeed I could just trim it like I wanted, but that in a year, maybe two at the outmost, I would be having it removed anyways. He pointed out all the signs of extreme rotting in the tree. Discolored leaves, hollow holes, slumping limbs, and explained that the maple we liked so much are prone to rotting from the inside out. He advised that given how the tree was situated, it would be much better to have it taken down now, than to wait for a storm, or a heavy snow to drop a limb on my, or my neighbor's house. He was very reluctant, as in he was outright not going to do it, to "just trim" a tree that he obviously felt was a danger, though I pressed him a bit on it. Mark is definitely a man of principal. After getting a quote for the removal, I contacted a few other tree services, and their guys came over, and told me much the same, after hemming and hawing, and asking if I was sure I just didn't want to get it trimmed for now. So I had Mark take down the tree. He had to get a crane truck to do the whole job, but showed up while I was at work, and was done by the time I got home mid-afternoon of the scheduled day. Other than some sawdust around the remaining stump (I didn't have him grind it as money was a bit tight from the house purchase, but his quote for that was very competitive as well), and a few stray small branches and bits of bark the whole tree was gone. No mess left behind, and without the fact that the tree wasn't in the yard anymore, nary a sign he had been there. I grew up in a small town, and Mark's whole business reminded me of businesses there, not something I often see in the city. Mark obviously takes pride in what he does, and he is going to do it the way he believes is right way, even if it means you might go somewhere else because you don't agree with him.

Professional and knowledgeable service. I was pleased with the final product.

Had purchased one of the Big Deal coupons and applied it to cost of service. Mark got in touch very quickly and arranged to do the work within a few weeks. He and Andy came out about 8 am and were all finished by early afternoon. They worked quietly and steadily and knew exactly what they were doing. They also gave some excellent advice on our landscape. We were very pleased and would not hesitate to call them for any other work needed.

I bought a Big Deal coupon ($99 for $200 of service) and then paid for additional tree trimming without getting any other estimates which means I don't know if Mortensen's rate is good or not. Mark and his crew were friendly and professional, and did what they said they'd do. Note: They cut down a sickly ash tree because of possible borer threat, but never let me know whether they'd detected the borer or not so I highly recommend staying on top of those kinds of issues. Overall, an excellent experience.

It went well.

Great service and expert knowledge

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It went well. They know what they are doing and they made my trees look great.

Over-the-top satisfied! Not only with the job of cutting down and removing the two dead aspens, but the actual care and concern for each and every detail. The knowledge, history and true care that went into this job was admirable. Never experienced someone who took more care, yet did such a quick and thorough job as this company. I would say BRAVO on ALL counts...!

Mark did an awesome job pruning my Ash tree. I was getting ready to sell my house but the Ash tree out front was overgrown and had broken branches from the last winter snows. It's a beautiful tree but was starting to hide the house. Plus the entire back side had some huge branches come down in the winter. It was not looking quite as good as it had in prior years. Mark came out gave us a fair estimate and scheduled the work. The work was done on time and in a very professional manner. He really knows what he's doing! Mark did an awesome job and I was amazed at how good the tree looked.

unknown

Mortensen's did a really great job. They removed a very large maple tree and also the two stumps for a great price. I would highly recommend them to anyone in the area looking to remove trees and stumps.