Tree health care that starts with a diagnosis, and stays with your trees.
Most tree problems are slow. They start under the soil line or high in the canopy and take years to show. Plant health care from an ISA Certified Arborist finds them early, treats the real cause, and keeps watching.
Plant health care is built into every membership, from a yearly walk at $219 to complete stewardship of every tree on the property.
Not a spray schedule. A plan for each tree.
Plant health care, or PHC, is the part of arboriculture that keeps trees from needing the rest of it. A removal fixes a tree that has already failed. Pruning fixes structure. Plant health care deals with the living system underneath: the roots, the soil, the leaves, and the pests and diseases that work on all three.
The difference between good PHC and a lawn-care spray route is the order of operations. A spray route treats every yard the same on a fixed date. We start with a diagnosis. Tyler holds a Bachelor’s in Botany and a Master’s in Environmental Sciences, and he’s an ISA Certified Arborist. That training exists for one reason: so the treatment matches the actual problem. A yellowing pin oak with a soil pH problem needs a completely different answer than a yellowing pin oak with root damage from last year’s driveway.
Why Northeast Ohio trees need it
Our trees carry more pressure than most. Emerald ash borer has already killed most of the untreated ash in Portage and Summit County. Beech leaf disease was first found in Lake County, Ohio, which puts our beeches near the center of it. Oak wilt is present in the state, spotted lanternfly is spreading, and our heavy clay soils compact easily and drain slowly. Add construction, road salt, and summers that swing from soaked to drought, and a mature tree spends a lot of its year under stress.
None of that means every tree needs treatment. Most of the trees we walk are healthy, and the most valuable thing we do is tell you which ones to leave alone. Plant health care is what lets you spend money only where it changes the outcome.
What one visit can’t tell you
A single assessment is a snapshot. The things that matter most in tree health are changes: a canopy that’s a little thinner than last spring, a flare that’s been buried a little deeper, a new crack, a tar spot infection on its third year instead of its first. You only see those if the same trained eye walks the same trees on a schedule and writes down what it saw. That’s the reason we built the Tree Health Membership.
The Northeast Ohio list.
These are the pests, diseases and site problems we find most often on Kent-area properties, what they look like, and what we actually do about them.
Emerald ash borer
Thinning starts at the top of the crown. Look for D-shaped exit holes about an eighth of an inch wide, bark that splits in vertical strips, woodpecker damage in winter, and new sprouts along the lower trunk.
If most of the canopy is still there, a systemic treatment on a repeating schedule can protect the tree. Once decline is advanced, removal is cheaper and safer done early, before the wood turns brittle.
Beech leaf disease
Dark bands between the leaf veins, best seen looking up through the canopy in early summer. Leaves get thick, leathery and curled, and the canopy thins over a few seasons.
First found in Lake County, Ohio, so Northeast Ohio beeches have been exposed longer than almost anywhere. Foliar treatments can slow it on trees worth protecting. We check every beech on every walk.
Oak wilt
Leaves brown from the tip and edges inward and drop while still partly green, often in midsummer. Red-group oaks can go from healthy to dead in a single season.
Prevention matters most. We don't prune oaks during the spring and early-summer infection window, and fresh wounds get attention fast. High-value oaks near a known case may be candidates for a preventive injection.
Spotted lanternfly
Gray, mud-like egg masses on bark, stone and vehicles from fall to spring. In summer, sticky honeydew and black sooty mold below infested trees.
Scrape and destroy egg masses, remove tree of heaven where it makes sense, and report new sightings to the Ohio Department of Agriculture. We look for it on every walk.
Tar spot and leaf diseases
Black raised spots on maple leaves by midsummer, browned sycamore leaves after a wet spring, crabapples that drop their leaves in August.
Mostly cosmetic for a single year. Repeated years weaken a tree, so the plan starts with fall leaf cleanup and, when it's warranted, a spring program to break the cycle.
Iron and manganese chlorosis
Leaves turn pale yellow while the veins stay green, starting at the branch tips. Common where soil pH runs high, often near foundations, driveways and fill soil.
A soil test first, so we're treating the real cause. Then a targeted nutrient treatment and longer-term soil work. Yellowing that looks like disease is often this.
Girdling roots and buried flares
A trunk that goes straight into the ground like a telephone pole, with no flare at the base. Mulch piled against the bark. A canopy that slowly thins on one side.
A root flare check and mulch correction, done by hand. Caught early, it's one of the cheapest fixes in tree care. Caught late, it's a removal.
Compaction, drought and construction
Dieback a year or two after a driveway, addition, sewer line or grade change. Scorch along leaf edges in August. Early fall color in July.
Protect the root zone before work starts if we can. After the fact: deep watering guidance, mulch rings, soil care and root fertilization to help the tree recover.
What happens in each season.
Timing is half of plant health care. The same treatment can work in April and do nothing in July. Here's how the year runs for a Northeast Ohio property.
Dormant season
- Structural pruning while the canopy is bare
- Dormant oil for scale and mites, late winter
- Lanternfly egg mass checks
- The January State of Your Trees letter for members
The first walk
- Whole-property walk as leaves come out
- Emerald ash borer treatments
- Soil tests and spring fertilization
- No oak pruning from mid-April
Watch and water
- Midsummer walk for Crown and Old Growth members
- Beech leaf disease and oak wilt checks
- Drought watering guidance
- Pest scouting on stressed trees
Set up for next year
- Fall walk and report
- Root fertilization while roots keep growing
- Anti-desiccant on evergreens
- Leaf cleanup to break tar spot cycles
What we do, and what comes with membership.
Every service below is available to members, and many are included by tier. Members get up to 20% off anything that isn't.
Tree health assessment
A walk of the tree or the whole property: canopy, bark, root flare, soil and site. You get a written summary with photos.
Every membership walkSoil testing
A look at pH, organic matter and nutrients in the root zone, so fertilization and treatment answer what the soil actually needs.
Included from HeartwoodRoot fertilization
Nutrition delivered to the root zone in spring or fall, matched to the soil test and the tree's condition.
1, 3 or 6 trees by tierEmerald ash borer protection
Systemic treatment for ash trees that are still worth saving, on a schedule that keeps them protected.
Member pricingDormant oil
A late-winter spray that smothers overwintering scale, mites and insect eggs before they become a summer problem.
Included from CrownAnti-desiccant
A late-fall coating that helps broadleaf and needled evergreens hold moisture through Ohio's winter wind.
Included from CrownRoot flare check and mulch correction
We find the flare by hand, pull mulch off the bark, and reset the ring so roots breathe and bark stays dry.
2 or 4 trees by tierYoung-tree structural pruning
Small cuts at the right age that prevent large failures later. The cheapest pruning a tree will ever need.
Included in Old GrowthDisease and pest treatment
Targeted treatment when a diagnosis calls for it, applied by a licensed applicator with a written record of every product.
Up to 20% off for membersFrom the first walk to a tree record.
Request a membership
Pick a tier and tell us about the property. Every membership starts with an intro walk so we can build your record properly.
The intro walk
Your arborist walks every tree, tags it, notes species, size and condition, and maps it in your private portal.
A written report
After each walk: what we found, what to watch, photos, and any recommended work held at your member price for 30 days.
Treatment, recorded
Included treatments happen on schedule. Every product is logged with its EPA registration number, the amount and the date.
Want to see what members receive after every walk? The membership page shows the report, the tree map and the member portal. If you’re weighing whether it’s worth it for your property, Tyler wrote out the math for each tier.
The same arborist, every season, writing it down.
Most tree problems start where no one is looking. A membership means an ISA Certified Arborist walks your whole property on a schedule, keeps a record of every tree, and catches the slow changes a one-time visit can't.
Members save 5 to 20% on plant health care and 3 to 7% on tree work, all year.
Founding rates apply to the first 20 members or memberships accepted by March 31, 2027. Every membership starts with an intro walk.
When a tree is asking for help.
If you're seeing any of these, don't wait a season to see if it improves. Most of them are cheaper to deal with now than next year.
- Leaves yellowing or browning outside of fall, or dropping in midsummer
- A canopy that’s thinner than last year, or dead tips at the top of the crown
- Mushrooms, conks or shelf fungus at the base or on the trunk
- Bark that’s cracking, peeling in strips, oozing, or stained dark
- D-shaped holes in ash bark, or heavy woodpecker activity in winter
- A trunk with no visible flare where it meets the ground
- Wilting that doesn’t recover after rain
- Sticky leaves, black sooty mold, or gray egg masses on bark
- New growth that’s shorter each year
One sign on its own is rarely an emergency. Two or three together, or one that’s getting worse each year, is worth a walk. If a tree is cracked, leaning suddenly, or hanging over something that matters after a storm, call our 24/7 emergency line instead.
Plant health care, answered.
What is plant health care?
Plant health care is the ongoing work of keeping trees and shrubs healthy instead of reacting after they decline. It starts with a diagnosis, then combines soil care, root fertilization, pest and disease management, and pruning on a schedule that fits each tree. Done well, it costs less than replacing a mature tree and catches problems while they're still cheap to fix.
My tree's leaves look yellow or brown. Is it dying?
Not necessarily. Discoloration is a symptom, not a diagnosis. It can come from a nutrient problem like iron chlorosis, a leaf disease that's mostly cosmetic, drought, root damage, or a serious pest. An on-site assessment is the only honest answer, and it's what every membership walk includes.
How do I know if a tree can be saved?
We look at how much of the canopy is still healthy, what's causing the decline, the species, and what the tree is near. Some trees respond well to treatment. Others are past the point where treatment makes sense, and we'll say so plainly.
Do you treat for emerald ash borer?
Yes. Ash trees that still have most of their canopy can be protected with systemic treatment on a repeating schedule. Trees that are already in heavy decline are usually better removed early, while the wood is still sound enough to climb.
Do I need a membership to get plant health care?
No. We still assess and treat individual trees. Membership is the better fit when you have trees you plan to keep for years: you get scheduled walks, a record of every tree, included treatments by tier, and 5 to 20% off any other plant health care. Memberships start at $219 a year.
What's included in a membership walk?
Your arborist walks the whole property, checks every tree for pests, disease and structural problems, and looks at the root flares and soil. Afterward you get a written report with photos, what to watch, and any recommended work held at your member price for 30 days.
When is the best time for root fertilization in Ohio?
Spring and fall both work. Fall is often better for established trees because roots keep growing after the leaves drop. We time it to the soil test and the tree's condition rather than a calendar.
Are your treatments safe for kids and pets?
Every product is applied by a licensed Ohio pesticide applicator according to its label, including any time to stay off treated areas. You get a record of every product used, with its EPA registration number, so you always know what went on your property.
Can sick trees infect healthy ones nearby?
Some can. Oak wilt spreads through connected root systems and sap beetles, and Dutch elm disease moves the same way. Beech leaf disease and many leaf fungi spread through the canopy. Finding the first tree early is what protects the rest.
Is treatment guaranteed to work?
No honest arborist guarantees how a living tree will respond. We tell you what's realistic before any treatment starts, and if removal is the better call, we'll say that too.
Read more from the field
Written by Tyler for Northeast Ohio homeowners. No sales pitch, just what we see on real properties.
What a tree health membership is actually worth
The math on each tier, what's included, and who it isn't for.
Emerald ash borer has already won here. What to do now.
Treat, remove, or wait: how to decide for each ash on your property.
Why your maple's leaves turn black in July
Tar spot looks alarming. Here's when it matters and when it doesn't.
The silver maple problem
Why our most common tree fails, and the three options when it starts to.
Portage & Summit County
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Keep the trees you love healthy for decades.
The Tree Health Membership puts an ISA Certified Arborist on your property every season, from $219 a year. Serving Kent, Stow, Hudson, Cuyahoga Falls and the rest of Portage and Summit County.
What Customers Say
Real reviews from Kent-area homeowners.
142 reviews on Google · View all →
“If you want to hire the best, at a price that is competitive with the lower-quality services, there is really only one good option. Tyler has spent decades climbing, roping, and felling the most challenging trees. He and his crew can handle any job and they are small enough to listen and work with the customer needs. I could not be happier with the price and the quality of work.”
Steve Ash
1 year ago
“What a great experience. Tyler came to the house, walked me through what he would do. Suggestions on particular trees, and their proper time of when they should be pruned. The team showed up and were so polite and did a fantastic job and cleaned up after themselves!”
Carla Ehrhardt
9 months ago
“What a great team. The guy that runs this always let us know when he was coming. Great communication. The guys worked like a team, communicating with each other — it was fun to watch the experience they had. We had other tree guys before but this is definitely the best that we've had. I definitely would use them again.”
Patty Smith
7 months ago
“Tyler was a professional from the first minute of meeting him. It's obvious he cares very much for trees and nature in general. He and his team were wonderful. HUGE tree removed and branches from other trees removed. They thoroughly cleaned up the work areas and made sure we were very happy with their work. Two neighbors were impressed enough that they are having work done by Tyler as well.”
Lynn Beaujon
1 year ago
“Truly fantastic service. Prompt. Personable. Knowledgeable. Easy-going. Called about a massive downed limb over phone lines. They came out and looked at it within two hours. Tyler and his crew were there at 8 am the next morning to remove it safely and quickly. Cleaned up afterwards with diligence and care. Done and gone by 10 am.”
Saul Flanner
10 months ago
“Throughout my experience with TG-TreeCare, I have been consistently impressed by their exceptional professionalism, outstanding communication and unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction. The removal process was executed with meticulous care, resulting in a flawless outcome. The subsequent cleanup and aftercare were performed to perfection, leaving my property in pristine condition.”
Virginia Serra
6 months ago
All reviews sourced from Google Business Profile · TG-TreeCare LLC, Kent, Ohio