Quick Summary:
Trees are like any living system, where problems caught early are almost always less expensive and more treatable than problems caught late. Preventive tree care is the practice of identifying and reducing threats before they become costly.
Certified arborists function as "tree doctors" for the landscape, combining visual inspection and diagnostic technology to assess health, structural integrity, soil conditions, and pest or disease activity, and then building a customized plan for each property.
Call a certified arborist for a preventative annual inspection at minimum, and sooner if a tree is near a structure, has recently been stressed by drought, flooding, or construction, shows any signs of decline, or has not been evaluated in several years. Many of the most damaging tree conditions are undetectable to a homeowner but identifiable to a trained arborist before they become visible
Proper tree care is an investment that can lead to substantial returns. Well-cared-for trees are attractive and can add considerable value to your property, and poorly maintained trees can be a significant liability.
Much like an annual wellness visit at a doctor’s office for your own health, preventative tree care identifies and reduces health risks before they become costly problems. You don’t wait until something is seriously wrong to see a doctor if you can help it, you go regularly so a trained professional can catch small problems before they become big ones. The same logic applies to trees.
Most tree problems are far less expensive and far more treatable when caught early. Through regular inspections, targeted maintenance, and proactive treatment, Davey’s certified arborists act as “tree doctors,” taking a holistic, science-backed approach to keeping trees and shrubs healthy over the long term.
This article acts as a guide to what preventative tree care involves, including the services, the reasoning behind each, and what homeowners can expect while working with Davey.
What Is Preventive Tree Care?
The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) describes plant health care as a “process of scheduled preventative maintenance based on monitoring and the use of cultural and chemical tactics to enhance tree vitality.”
Preventative tree care is a process of scheduled, proactive maintenance that includes inspecting, treating, and maintaining trees and shrubs on a routine basis so problems are caught and corrected before they advance.
Most homeowners only call an arborist when something has gone wrong, like a fallen branch, a visibly sick tree, or storm damage. At that point, options are often limited and expensive. Preventative care shifts that dynamic in favor of the client.
Just as a doctor can identify high blood pressure or early-stage issues during a routine exam, a certified arborist can identify structural weaknesses, early pest and disease activity, soil deficiencies, and root issues during a routine inspection, long before they show up as visible decline.
What Davey's Certified Arborists Do: A Holistic, Science-Based Approach
Davey’s certified arborists are “tree doctors” who bring both the training and tools to regularly assess the landscape and detect problems before they become advanced. They specialize in tree health and tree risk assessments, taking a holistic, science-based approach to maintaining a healthy landscape.
Davey’s arborists combine visual inspections with advanced technology to identify existing damage and potential risk. After a thorough inspection, the arborist outlines a customized plan with proactive and responsive options specific to the tree’s health and homeowner’s landscape goals. Arborists can also recommend corrective action, including pruning, cabling, bracing, and lightning protection systems.
The ISA-certified arborist credential held by Davey's arborists represents a recognized, tested standard of knowledge in tree biology, diagnosis, maintenance practices, and safety.
“A holistic approach to tree health looks beyond the tree itself and goes underground, also taking soil root health into account for lasting effects."
The Services That Make Up Preventive Tree Care
Each service in a preventive care program is a layer of protection that, together, forms a complete approach to keeping a landscape healthy and reducing the likelihood of costly emergencies.
Not every property needs every service on every visit. A Davey arborist will assess which services are most relevant to each homeowner's specific trees, site conditions, and goals.
Routine Health Inspections and Tree Risk Assessments
Routine health inspections and tree risk assessments are the foundation of preventive tree care and the direct equivalent of an annual wellness check. A certified arborist conducts a thorough visual inspection of each tree, evaluating the crown, trunk, root collar, and site conditions for signs of disease, pest activity, structural defects, and environmental stress.
For trees near structures, driveways, or high-traffic areas, a formal tree risk assessment evaluates the likelihood of failure and the potential consequences, in accordance with ISA and ANSI A300 standards.
Davey's arborists combine visual inspection with advanced diagnostic technology, such as sonic tomography and microdrilling testing, to identify internal decay or structural issues not visible from the outside. The result is a clear picture of what each tree needs and what risks, if any, need to be addressed before they escalate.
Most problems are less expensive and easier to treat when found during a routine inspection than after a visible failure or emergency.
Tree Trimming & Pruning
Pruning is one of the most important, and most frequently misunderstood, components of preventive tree care. Done correctly and on a regular schedule, pruning removes dead, diseased, or structurally weak wood before it becomes a hazard, improves air circulation through the canopy to reduce disease pressure, corrects structural defects in young trees before they become expensive problems in mature ones, and maintains clearance from structures, utilities, and high-traffic areas.
Done incorrectly or at the wrong time of year, pruning can introduce disease, create entry points for pests, and cause long-term structural damage. Davey's arborists follow ANSI A300 pruning standards and are trained to determine the appropriate type and timing of pruning for each species and situation.
“DIY approaches to pruning commonly cause long-term harm. Topping, flush cuts, and improper timing are among the most common mistakes a homeowner makes when attempting to prune on their own."
Plant Health Care Program
A Plant Health Care (PHC) program is an organized, ongoing framework that integrates all preventive services. Rather than treating problems one at a time as they arise, a PHC program involves regular monitoring visits throughout the growing season, during which a Davey arborist tracks the health of trees and shrubs over time and watches for changes in leaf color, canopy density, growth rate, pest activity, and signs of disease.
“For homeowners, a PHC program means they do not have to start from scratch each time something goes wrong; there is a consistent relationship with an arborist who knows the property's history and can identify deviations from what is normal for each tree. This continuity is what makes early detection possible."
Davey's PHC approach combines monitoring with a customized treatment plan that addresses the tree's specific needs rather than a one-size-fits-all schedule.
Tree and Shrub Fertilization
Trees and shrubs in residential landscapes are rarely fertilized despite growing in compacted, nutrient-depleted urban soil far removed from the natural forest ecosystem where leaf and litter decomposition would replenish nutrients naturally, which can result in nutrient deficiencies in the tree.
Fertilization as part of a preventive care program is not about pushing for fast growth. It’s about ensuring trees have the nutrients they need to maintain healthy metabolism and balanced growth. A Davey arborist evaluates soil conditions and individual tree health before recommending fertilization, ensuring the right nutrients are applied in the right amounts at the right time.
The goal of fertilization is balanced, targeted nutrition that supports long-term tree health.
Pest and Disease Prevention
Preventing pest and disease problems is significantly less expensive than treating them after they are established. Some problems, once advanced, cannot be reversed.
Preventive pest and disease management as part of a PHC program involves regular monitoring for early signs of infestation or infection, targeted preventive treatments applied before populations reach unacceptable aesthetic levels, and cultural practices, like pruning for air circulation, proper mulching, and appropriate irrigation, that reduce the conditions that favor pest and disease development.
Davey's arborists are trained to identify early signs of common regional pests and diseases that most homeowners would not recognize and to recommend the most targeted, effective, and environmentally responsible response. The ISA's ANSI A300 standards include Integrated Pest Management as a recognized standard of practice for professional arborists, emphasizing monitoring, threshold-based decision-making, and least-disruptive interventions.
Soil Health Management
Soil health is the foundation of tree health, and in most residential landscapes, it is also the most overlooked factor.
“Urban and suburban soil is frequently compacted by foot traffic, construction, and vehicle use, stripped of organic matter, and altered in pH by lawn care products and irrigation. This can directly impact a tree’s health.”
All these conditions limit root function and reduce a tree's ability to take up water and nutrients. Davey's arborists assess soil conditions as part of a preventive care evaluation and may recommend treatments such as soil aeration, organic matter additions like biochar and humates, or pH adjustment to restore the conditions that allow roots to function properly.
The ANSI A300 establishes soil management as a recognized standard of professional arboricultural practice, reflecting the scientific consensus that you cannot sustainably maintain tree health above the ground if the conditions below are compromised.
Storm Preparation
Storm preparation is preventive care with a specific, time-sensitive goal: reducing the likelihood that a tree or branch will fail during a high-wind or severe weather event. A proactive pre-storm structural assessment costs a fraction of emergency removal after a large limb or tree fails onto a structure.
In practice, it involves identifying and removing dead, dying, or structurally compromised branches before a storm provides the force that brings them down; evaluating co-dominant stems, included bark, and other structural defects that increase failure risk under load; and, where appropriate, installing supplemental support systems such as cabling and bracing to reduce the likelihood of failure in trees with structural issues
Davey's arborists also assess lightning protection systems for large, high-value trees near structures. The ANSI A300 standard addresses both supplemental support systems and lightning protection as defined professional practices.
“Even trees that look healthy at first glance should be included in a pre-storm assessment. Hidden cracks or breaks in the branches are often missed and create preventable storm damage.”
What You Can Expect From Davey's Tree Health Services
For preventive tree care services, a Davey certified arborist visits the property and conducts a thorough inspection using both visual assessment and diagnostic technology to identify existing damage and potential risk across the entire landscape, not just a single tree.
The arborist evaluates tree health, structural integrity, soil conditions, and site factors. From that assessment, the arborist develops a customized plan with both proactive options (ongoing prevention and maintenance) and responsive options (corrective treatments or structural interventions) specific to the trees and the homeowner's goals.
Corrective recommendations may include pruning, cabling, bracing, or lightning protection systems. The relationship is ongoing, meaning the same arborist who evaluates the property builds familiarity with the landscape over time, making early detection of changes more reliable.
This is not a one-size-fits-all service. Each plan is built around the specific trees, site, and priorities of each homeowner.
Start With a Professional Assessment
Preventive tree care starts with a single visit from a Davey certified arborist to get a clear picture of each tree's current health, any existing threats, and a plan to keep the landscape healthy over time.
Schedule a consultation before a problem becomes visible. By then, options are already narrowing.
Preventive Tree Care FAQs for Homeowners
Preventive tree care identifies and reduces health risks before they become costly problems. Instead of waiting for the first visible symptoms, preventive care follows a scheduled routine designed to catch issues before they cause severe damage.
Inspections and preventive tree care are dependent on a property’s needs and homeowner goals.
While the tools for DIY preventive care are available to individual homeowners, certified arborists have the expertise needed to determine what services are needed and when. It’s best to work with a certified arborist for your preventive tree care.
A tree health inspection evaluates the pest and disease status of a tree, while a risk assessment looks at the structural properties of a tree. While arborists may look for similar symptoms in each, the outcomes differ.
Cabling and bracing are proactive techniques to support a tree with poor or weakened structure during high winds, from the weight of ice and snow, and heavy foliage. Learn more about tree cabling and bracing here.
