Key Points:
- An ISA-Certified Arborist is the best landscape professional to provide tree healthcare, maintenance, and structural risk assessments.
- Arborists, landscapers, and lawn care providers all serve distinct purposes, and knowing their differences can help homeowners hire the right professional.
- Arborists respond to tree emergencies but also provide pruning, pest control, seasonal maintenance visits, and a range of other services.
It’s a common challenge among homeowners: You know your landscape needs work, but you don’t know who to call. When hiring an outdoor professional, many people prioritize a good price over specific qualifications, which often leads them to choose the wrong professional for the job.
Understanding the distinct roles of outdoor professionals helps you know who handles which parts of your landscape. Many homeowners have a lawn crew and maybe a landscaper, but these pros do not inspect trees or diagnose diseases. For those tasks, only a certified arborist has the knowledge and credentials to do the job right.
Just like you wouldn’t see a cardiologist for a broken bone, you wouldn’t hire a landscaper for tree removal or a risk assessment. An ISA-Certified Arborist is always the best long-term investment for tree health, maintenance, and property safety. At AKA Tree Service, our certified arborists deliver exceptional tree care in the Atlanta, GA, and Nashville, TN metro areas while adhering to the industry’s strictest safety protocols.
Let’s review the key roles within the landscape industry and why an ISA-Certified Arborist is the best choice for your tree care needs.
Who’s Who in the Landscaping Industry?
There are three key roles within the industry—an arborist, a landscaper, and a lawn care provider—each serving a distinct purpose. While their roles sometimes overlap, it’s important to understand their areas of focus and limitations before bringing someone on to care for your yard.
Landscaper
Landscapers design, build, and maintain outdoor spaces, such as yards, gardens, and patio areas. More than gardeners, landscapers alter and refine the structural elements of a landscape while also planting and maintaining its plants.
With a primary focus on aesthetics and upkeep, their responsibilities often include:
- Planting new shrubs, flowers, and trees
- Mowing and fertilizing lawns
- Trimming hedges and shrubs
- Cleaning up debris, such as fallen twigs and branches
There is no standardized criterion for landscaping, although many states require licenses for specialized landscape work. The Georgia Department of Agriculture, for example, offers licensing programs for landscapers to administer pesticides. While landscapers may be knowledgeable about tree and plant health, they are generally not professionally trained or certified to diagnose tree issues or assess structural risks.
Lawn Care Provider
Unlike landscapers who handle the aesthetics of your entire landscape, lawn care providers focus solely on turf health and appearance. More than just mowing, these professionals offer a range of lawn-specific services. Particularly in the Southeast, they work to improve drainage and the quality of clay soils.
Other services include:
- Putting down seed for new growth
- Fertilizing the soil to improve grass growth
- Removing weeds to keep the lawn neat
- Treating and preventing pests
When hiring a lawn care provider, it’s important to know that, given their specialization, they are, in most cases, not qualified to work on your property’s trees, shrubs, or other plants. Even soil health assessments are limited, excluding the connection to tree and plant health.
Arborist
Arborists are professionals in arboriculture, which is the cultivation, management, and study of trees, shrubs, and other perennial woody plants. ISA-Certified Arborists have earned certification from the International Society of Arboriculture, the industry’s highest credential, and are required to take continuing education units and recertify every 3 years.
Of the three roles, arborists offer the largest range of services related to your landscape’s health and appearance:
- Conducting tree risk assessments to ensure tree stability and property safety
- Safely removing undesired, hazardous, or dying trees
- Diagnosing tree problems and diseases
- Providing plant healthcare services such as fertilization and invasive plant management
- Pruning tree branches in hazardous positions
- Preventing pests and regional threats through proactive monitoring
Arborists have the equipment and experience necessary to provide professional tree care that accounts for your landscape’s entire ecosystem, not just one aspect.
Why This Distinction Matters
An arborist is the only expert trained to deliver long-term tree healthcare. This matters most when safety concerns arise.
Imagine if one of your trees’ branches is hanging over your fence. While a landscaper might attempt to trim back the branch, an arborist has been trained in proper pruning techniques and will ensure that the tree’s health and structure are accounted for, mitigating future threats from neighboring branches. There is a distinction between tree trimming and pruning: Trimming focuses on shape and aesthetics, while pruning aims to improve the tree’s health and structure by removing damaged or dangerous branches.
Another example is soil care. While lawn care providers can fertilize and share insights about the health of your soil, they may not be able to provide a complete picture the way an arborist can. Soil health provides the foundation for tree and plant health. Working with a specialist who can assess every component of your landscape—both individually and as part of the whole—enables a better understanding and more accurate treatment plans.
When to Call an Arborist
Most homeowners call a local arborist for emergencies, such as storm damage. However, arborists can also provide regular maintenance visits, preventive treatments, and more. Here’s when you’ll want to call an arborist over another landscape professional:
- Tree Symptoms: Common Southeastern tree diseases, such as oak leaf blister and anthracnose, can cause premature leaf drop and leaf spots. More severe diseases, like oak wilt, can rapidly lead to death if symptoms go untreated for too long. At the first sign of problems, call your arborist for an assessment and diagnosis.
- Safety Hazards: Leaning and exposed roots are signs of instability that an arborist looks for during a tree risk assessment. They can also prune branches too close to the home or power lines.
- Consultation for Removal: From safety hazards to aesthetic concerns, a certified arborist will assess your needs and manage the tree removal process from start to finish.
- Seasonal Maintenance: When an arborist visits your property every few months, they are more likely to catch early warning signs and take action before issues develop. This also means a decreased risk of tree emergencies in the future.
Keep Your Entire Landscape Healthy With AKA Tree Service
Whether you suspect a pest infestation or want your soil health assessed, a trusted, local arborist can provide expert guidance and total property management. Serving the Greater Atlanta and Greater Nashville areas, AKA Tree Service is committed to raising the standard in tree care. We employ 10 ISA-Certified Arborists who are fully licensed, bonded, and insured regional experts. Dedicated to sustainability, safety, and excellence, our team always cuts with confidence and gets the job done right.
Ready to schedule a consultation? Call 404-713-4305 or contact us online today!
FAQs
What is the difference between a landscaper and an arborist?
A landscaper focuses on the appearance, structure, and basic maintenance of the yard, whereas an arborist is certified to provide tree healthcare and risk assessments that account for the entire landscape. An ISA-Certified Arborist is always the best professional to call when you have a tree health or safety concern. They are qualified to conduct tree risk assessments, hold a pesticide applicator license, and meet a 3-year certification renewal requirement.
Do I need an arborist or a landscaper for my trees?
If your concern involves tree health, structure, removal, or proximity to your home, you need an arborist. Landscapers can provide tree planting, trimming, and fertilization, but they are not trained to provide tree healthcare services or risk assessments.
Can a lawn care company treat my trees?
No, lawn care providers typically only treat lawns. Their services may include fertilization and weed control, but their expertise does not extend to tree health and biology. Only an ISA-Certified Arborist has the qualifications and certifications necessary to deliver expert care for tree health and structure.
How do I find a certified arborist in Atlanta?
Look up reputable ISA-Certified Arborists who serve the greater Atlanta area; you can use the International Society of Arboriculture’s directory to find this information. Having an IICRC certification means the arborist has the highest level of training and expertise in arboriculture. Another key qualification to look for is regional expertise—for example, your arborist should have a strong understanding of Southeastern climate challenges, soil conditions, and invasive species.
