THE TREE TENDER

Nickey is a wealth of knowledge with all things concerning trees and his team is just as concerned about the health of trees. Excellent work.. Will hire again in the future.

Certified arborist. Excellent. We don't live in that house anymore. My husband and I are both master gardeners so we are very, very, very, very particular about who touches the trees. He's an ANM grad. He takes continuing education to stay up on things that need doing. He does everything in a beautiful, natural way. No extreme pruning. No gloving. No boxing. No nothing. He is just absolutely fabulous and I probably would never recommend anybody except for him for trees. It wasn't as much as we thought the price would be. He even blew up some of the roots. He is so professional. He's definitely an A. It was a good price because people come through for lawn work and they see you working on your yard and they'll stop and quote you outrageous prices. As a master gardener, I knew that was a good price.  He came when he said he was going to. He cleaned up every single day. They just didn't pile everything at the curb and wait until they were done. They finished the job when they said. When I called, he came out and told me when they were available when I said I wanted to schedule. I think it was only a week later or so. I think they are responsive. Punctuality is excellent. In that neighborhood, we weren't allowed to have any work done before 8 o'clock. They were there unloading their things before 8 o'clock. Topnotch professionalism.

SHORT STORY: (1) Nicky was cheaper at removing a fallen tree than the other highly-rated company I called. (2) Nicky spend an incredible amount of time with us explaining what he'd do and why, and was way more thorough than the other highly-rated company that gave me their own assessment. From talking to them both, I'm confident that Nicky is more knowledgeable and has more passion about trees. His rate is lower than the competition for the number of hours he and his crew spends on site, but his bill might actually be higher because he takes the time to do a very thorough job. Meaning you could pay less, but I seriously doubt you'd get the same quality. MORE DETAILS: (1) I had two trees that fell in a storm. I had another highly rated service come out, and they charged me $600 to remove the smaller one. Nicky / The Tree Tender came out later and charged me only $420 to remove the larger one. Comparing the size of the trees, Nicky's price for removal was about half of the other guy's. (2) Also, I had several trees across three lots that were always dropping branches from years of neglect, so while each company was out I asked for an assessment and a bid. The guy from the first company spent a good half hour with us, explaining in detail what he'd do, why, and how much it would cost. He gave a price that I thought was fair, but just wrote that price on a card, so there was no written agreement of the work. Then Nicky came out. He spent a good TWO HOURS with my wife and I going over his recommendations, noticing lots of problems that the first guy didn't. (And yes, they were legitimate; they were obvious once he pointed them out.) Also, he had a proposal sheet where he drew a tree map, writing a number of each tree, and then giving a line-item of what he'd do to that particular tree and how much it would cost. It's invaluable to have that kind of written agreement about the scope of work, to avoid misunderstandings. All in all, I couldn't be more pleased.

This is the second time I/ve used this vendor and was very satisfied on both occasions.  One reason I like Nickey Bishop is that he does not believe in just topping or cutting down trees unless absolutely necessary.  He will go out of his way to save a tree--or make that recommendation to the customer.  I find him extremely knowledgable, professional, courteous, and honest.  He delivers exactly what he says he will do.
This visit, as with the last, his crew arrived right at the agreed upon time.  They worked hard, did their jobs very well, and did a great job of cleaning up the limbs and leaves that were removed. They, also, were friendly and polite.

After having tree service people and local cutters stop and offer to trim our trees I was concerned so I wanted to hear what an expert had to say. Nickey Bishop, a certified arborist, came out promptly and looked at all of our trees. He was possessed a wealth of information on trees and you could tell that he had a real passion for the subject. He could have up sold us and cut the trees but instead he did not hesitate to tell us that our trees has been cut too much over the years. He did not see a job at that time. I would definitely recommend him to anyone and will continue to have him monitor a tree that we have which concerns us until it can recover. Honesty, knowledge and professionalism is really refreshing these days.

The Tree Tender has maintained my trees since 2000. The crew is always professional. These people are ARBORISTS not just guys with a chainsaw. In fact, most of the work was done by hand; therefore it's done accurately, carefully and quietly. Each cut is sealed/painted. Cleanup is meticulous. The only downside was scheduling; since it was non-emergency work i waited a month...but I'm not complaining.

We've used Nickey and his team several times and the experience is always great.  Nickey comes by and gives a detailed, tree by tree recommendation and cost estimate, then schedules the team.  A few days later the workers arrive and do exactly what was agreed to.  They clean up after themselves so there is nothing left for us to pick up.  Nickey and his team always do great work. 

The entire job went very well again. (Mr Bishop and his crew completed a large tree trimming job in 2010).
First, the broken limb was about 20 to 25 feet above the ground, was leaning on branches of another tree, and was positioned over a very important part of our native landscape plantings.  His team took extra precautions to rope the limb up securely, and then to cut in sections with ropes lowering each section carefully to the ground.  All their other trimming done over the planted landscape was done equally carefully. Nothing below was damaged even though they made many cuts and worked quite quickly.  Amazing. We worked together several times to make trimming/canopy thinning decisions, in context, while crew were up in the trees.   I appreciated being able to communicate my priorities for more sunlight needed in particular spots, and having the lifting and load-lightening of big branches completed accordingly.
If you love your trees and want them properly trimmed and well cared-for, call Nickey Bishop.  He is a real master at tree care.

The gentleman who came out for the estimate and for the service showed up on time and did not go over the estimate that he quoted. He did the trimming very well and we felt like he knew what he was doing. He also a did great job cleaning up. He was awesome. I felt he was very honest and down to earth. He is a really hands on guy and a really neat individual. He was very smart.

This was the third time I've used the Tree Tender, and the service was as good as it has been in the past.  Nicky (the owner) headed up the crew the past two times, but this time he sent out Bryce to head up a crew of four (incl. Bryce) to trim and shape more than a dozen of our two-story trees (and a handful of much smaller ones).   They removed branches that hung over our roof, but saved ones that were essential to the trees health.   They did a great job of cleanup, as I didn't find any branches left over in the lawn after their work was done.    When they were almost done, as we were talking with Bryce, he noticed another tree that needed a bit of a trim, and he took care of that without charge.
They are a bit expensive, but well worth it due to how much they care about trees, the quality of their work, and their professional and friendly demeanor.   As I've mentioned, I've used them for years, and all of my trees are healthy and unobtrusive.

They did a very good job of trimming back the dead wood and thinning the canopy without trimming so much that the trees looked naked. After several months, the trees look healthier than they ever have before. They also told us that we should expose the roots rather than let the lawn grow over them, because Ashes have their roots along the top of the soil line to help them thrive better. He was really nice, very prompt and professional. Excellent job cleaning up. I thought they were a little expensive compared to other tree service we've had done, but I also think they were a very good value.

I've had Nickey Bishop over twice since I bought my home in 2006. The first time (June, 2006), he came over with a helper to remove a huge cedar elm that the house builder had killed. The second time (June, 2008), he sent a crew to do cleanup and pruning of several trees. This man knows and loves trees. When he came to remove the dead cedar elm, he advised me on measures I could take to save another old, huge cedar elm that the builder had managed to only half kill. I followed his instructions to the letter and...success! The tree is thriving today, far beyond my expectations for it. When I first laid eyes on the poor thing, it was in such bad shape, I was sure it wouldn't last another season. I also asked for and received advice on choosing a replacement for the cedar elm that was removed, with instructions on placement and proper installation. I was also given sound advice on keeping my trees healthy by following a few simple rules. (No mulch! Who knew?) Nickey and his crew were very careful and respectful of my property and they cleaned up and hauled away all debris when they'd finished their work. Highly recommend.

The tree tender came with three teams (8 people!) and expertly trimmed all the trees on our property, including a huge oak. To get to the branches they use ropes and climbing gear. They cleared all the debris from the work, hauled off the branches and left the yard clean and organized. Great service. Strongly recommended!

We are beyond satisfied - we are thrilled with both the quality of the trimming and clean-up, and also with all of the advice and consulting that we received. We discussed a number of situations where decisions needed to be made to favor one tree over another (big branch conflicts) and to trim additional low branches (at owner request) to allow more sun into critical flower beds. We were welcome to work very closely with the trim team. They took great care to protect the existing flowers and plants on the ground - which is very difficult in our yard. We had an oak tree that looked like it was dying (it was), and with expert advice, we uncovered the smothered trunk, removed girdling roots, and used organic fertilizer to help it recover. It already has responded with new leaves. Who else would have taken the extra time to help a home owner actually *save* a tree? We recommend this tree service without reservation. You will not only get safe, thoughtful trimming, but you will also learn what healthy trees looks like and how to care for them as well.

We had a mini-tornado rip the top 1/4 of a beautiful shade tree (sycamore), and dump it on our roof and deck. This tree is very important to us, as it shades our house and reduces our air conditioning bills in the summer. It also provides beautiful views out the window. So, we were distressed at the prospect of losing it. The first tree guy we had said the tree was a loss, and would die and it should be removed. However, we then had Nickey Bishop a.k.a. The Tree Tender come out. Nickey really loves trees, and hates to cut them down unless necessary. He told us it could be saved with some cleanup work. Nickey brought a team of 3 guys who went up the tree with ropes. They cut down the torn sections, and trimmed and shaped the top of the trunk so that it would shed rain and not become rotten. They cleaned up all the downed limbs, and even cut it up into sections and left it as firewood for me, because I asked them to. His workers seemed really well-trained, and took safety very seriously. It is now 8 years later, and the tree is thriving! It has shaded our house for 8 hot summers. The dead top of the damaged trunk became a home for woodpeckers, and the rest of the crown filled in nicely. Nickey really knew what he was doing, and we are ever grateful for his opinion and work that saved our tree. We highly recommend the Tree Tender.

Nickey and his team did a great job! I would recommend them to anyone. They cleaned up very nicely. Additionally, they gave me advice on care of the trees as well. Very professional, honest, written estimates, and showed up as promised.

We were very pleased. Nickey and his crew did a great job; they know what they are doing and were very professional. They did exactly what they said they would, how they said they would do it, in the time frame they predicted, at the cost they estimated; no surprises and no problems. They even cleaned up some additional yard items that really weren't their job to do. The cost seemed very fair for the good work done. And Nickey has a great explanation on his website about why you should choose him over another vendor.