Tree-Centric Solutions

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In November, the month after the trees were planted, I contacted Tree-Centric with concerns that the trees were leaning. Mr. Jerome Delbridge suggested then the trees would establish themselves as time went on. They didn't, so I contacted Mr. Delbridge again, and he came and staked the trees. At the beginning of the spring I contacted Mr. Delbridge again, as the trees appeared to be showing many dead spots. He apologized and noted that he suspected the soil was not draining well and that a possible solution would be to fracture the soil at a cost of another $200. I questioned another charge, as he assured me when he planted the trees that he always ?took care of his customers.? This $200 offer to address the his suspected problem did not include travel expenses for the trip to my house, but I would have paid the additional fee had I been given some assurance that this would work and not result in further costs. His response to my inquiry about what would happen if this didn?t work was simply, ?"I suppose if my solution doesn't work, we will need to come up with another solution or the trees will die.? In our continued correspondence I asked him why he didn?t raise concerns about soil problems before (and it?s worth noting that all other trees in and around my yard in the same soil are healthy and thriving), and he offered this disturbing response:

?Jim, we are at an impasse here. I have an analogy that I hope illustrates my perspective: if you pay a plumber to install a toilet and in the process they discover the subfloor is rotten due to a leak, the plumber should not be expected to repair your floor. The majority of topsoil has been removed from your yard and the subsoil has been compacted to a point that severely limitos drainage. Just as the plumber assumes the floor is in good condition, I assumed that you soil structure was not dysfunctional.?

I responded as follows:

?Having received no response to my last e-mail, it seems clear that you no longer intend to honor your word. I believe your plumber analogy was misplaced, as a licensed plumber would not have installed a new toilet on a rotten leaky subfloor to begin with. As a Professional ISA Certified Arborist, you suggested the trees and planted them. You now contend that the problem is the soil, but surely after planting the first tree, your extensive professional knowledge and experience would have alerted you to this issue. We discussed our needs and your recommendations at length before the trees were planted, and as you'll recall, we proceeded with the trees you suggested. You told us that you would stand by the installation and health of the trees you plant, which is the whole reason we paid you to plant them rather than arranging for a less expensive option on our own. I followed your instructions in caring for the five trees and expected you to keep your word. We paid you for your visit to check the placement of the trees and then an additional $1,349.00 trusting we would have 5 healthy full trees. I have been e-mailing you since November, merely weeks after planting, with concerns, and you have yet to take any action consistent with your assurances that you would stand by your product and services. As you seem to have made clear you still do not intend to make any effort to rectify this, I will pursue through other channels, including evaluating appropriate legal action. I will also be writing a review on Angie's List and sending one to Spotts Garden Service. Thank you for making my decision on recourse so clear.?

Mr. Delbridge?s curt response offered a $700 possible solution (plus travel costs again of $195).

In the meantime, I reached out to other reputable companies and experts, all of whom have explained to me that the trees were improperly staked, improperly planted, and are now dead (1) or dying (4), despite my following Mr. Delbridge?s care instructions.

I did not receive the product or service I paid for, and while I intend to pursue all available remedies, it is more important to me that others be aware of this experience and trust other area nurseries and arborists for similar service.

Jerome contacted me after I purchased a deal package through AL. There was a misunderstanding on my part on what was included but we got that worked out easily. He showed up on time and talked to us and our kids the whole time he was planting the trees. We asked him about an existing tree that was having some problems and recommendations for a good shade tree for our deck. He was very knowledgeable and professional. We plan to contact him again in the future when we are able to plant the shade tree and others or if we notice any issues with our existing trees. He does not trim trees but can provide a recommendation on who he would trust to do a proper trimming.

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Jerome did an excellent job. Very informative.

I emailed Jerome during the day and received a call that evening. We made a date for 9/26/14; Jerome called before he came and was right on time. He was very nice and very knowledgeable about trees. He felt he would be able to save my green ash and treated the tree that evening and will be back in the spring to complete the second half of the treatment. He also looked at a cherry tree and bartlett pear tree and pronounced both of them gone. He told me about several trees that are native to Indiana that I could plant in their place.
I really liked Jerome and was amazed at his knowledge of trees; he was very friendly and professional. Once I have my other trees are cut down I'll have him back to replant other trees. I have given his name to other people for care of their trees and would recommend him to anyone in Angie's List.

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A gentleman came to the house, he called before he came that was a plus. I thought it was a pretty good cheap price for a fruit tree. I never plant anything like that, I always wanted a fruit tree, I seen it on my email from Angie’s and they had a deal from $154 for service without the sale, with the sale from Angie’s List it was $85.

They spiked the tree and put something else in it. They did not tell me about that at the beginning, they put another root system on a cherry tree. It could be any other plant, you can tell where they hook the branch onto it and it grew on to it. I did not like that, it’s not natural. He said its OK; I did ask him a lot of questions about it. He said it was a better root system. When they described the services they did not say that the fruit trees were spiked (using two different trees). I wanted a natural tree, it grew, and it budded, it has leaves on it. I think it might be OK, I am going to eat cherries off of it and I am scared to eat one because I don’t know what the root system is. I called it Frankenstein they experimenting on it. He was really nice, knowledgeable and professional. I had no problem with him except I was not told it was going to be two trees in one.

More than a tree-planting service, Jerome is a fount of tree wisdom. So good to know we can call him again to advise us on any issues that may come up in our small orchard.

Excellent flexible and professional.

The installation was very straightforward.  He planted the trees in the existing soil and covered the root systems with mulch.  He answered a myriad of questions by us about other trees we had on the property as well.  He is very knowledgeable about trees in general leading me to prune back one of my ornamental plum trees after he found fungus growing on it.

Going forward, we found that two of the trees died within a couple of months of planting.  The trees were planted in the subsoil common to divisions built up over the past 20 years or so.  When we planted trees in the past, it was necessary to add good dirt to the tree so it could get a start before it started venturing into the not so great soil around it.  This has proven to work.  When asked about replacing the two trees that died, we basically were told that the subsoil was the reason they died and that they would not be replaced.  While knowledgeable, the service to follow up on his work and us following his instructions left us with one good tree and two toothpicks.  We will be replacing them ourselves, and providing the conditions the tree needs to live the second time around.  $255 may have been too much to much to invest in very small trees.  I wouldn't take this offer again.

Jerome spent extra time with me identifying other trees in my yard and in my neighbor's yard and explaining my treatment options and their advantages. I felt like I was very educated about my decision thanks to him sharing his knowledge. He's obviously knowledgeable and passionate about being an arborist.

I recommended him to my neighbors who have ash trees.

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