Due to our company offering tree removal in Hamilton, we know that dealing with a tree failure can be stressful enough, and having to deal with insurance can only compound that stress. So our hope here is to help make the process of filing a claim as seamless as possible, and perhaps even save you some money. It is hard to be really specific in terms of offering specific advice in the area of insurance since there is no one size fits all insurance policy. There are many variants between insurance companies and even policy to policy within that company. This makes it all the more important for ..read more

What is the best strategy for tree pruning in this above image?   Let’s start with what we do know.  We know we want to keep the tree.  Not only that but we want to keep the tree healthy.  At the same time, it’s proximity to the house/cars/garage/etc. is causing problems.  Squirrels jumping onto the roof, the shingles are getting damaged because the tree casts lots of shade, poor water drainage away from house because gutters are filling with leaves.  And of course, we want to keep our home and our family safe.  So back to the original question, how do we ke ..read more

Social Proof. Reading online reviews is a great start to hiring a tree service but it doesn’t give the complete picture.  Reach out to a friend/family/co-worker/neighbour for a completely unbiased, unfiltered, and honest discussion regarding your trees and tree companies.  If you do get a recommendation, call up the tree service and say, “Hi, I got your name through ________.”  The company will strive even harder to satisfy you because they don’t want to let you down AND they don’t want to let down the person who made the referral.  2. The company should be booking 2 week ..read more

So you have a tree that you like.  It is perfect, or nearly perfect, just the way it is.  It isn’t reaching overtop of the house.  It isn’t interfering with the tree next to it.  It isn’t providing too much shade.  It doesn’t appear to be a risk — yet.  Yet, being the operative word.  Now the question, how can the tree be kept to that size?  Trying to tell a tree to stop growing is a little bit like telling a teenager entering puberty to do the same.  It’s not happening.  Is it possible?  Yes.  Is that cruel and unhealthy?  Def ..read more

Maintain soil quality for your trees simply by following this guide. The tendency when evaluating the health of a tree is to look into a tree’s canopy and see if anything looks a little bit off.  This approach makes sense because oftentimes the buds, leaves, and branches will offer clues as to a trees health.  Oftentimes though, the source of the problem lies below the ground.  What is happening above ground is a symptom, the real issue is down below.   With that being said, here are 7 suggestions to maintain soil quality and ensure the ground underneath ..read more

This is being written in response to the Dec. 2nd ice storm that hit the GTHA. Many observations are drawn from this storm but some observations are drawn from previous ice storms as well. The hope is that you can use this information to evaluate and prepare in the event that we have another ice storm. Trees have an incredible resiliency writ within their DNA While the remainder of this reflection will be on tree/branch failure it is worth noting that most trees survived the storm unscathed.  Day in and day out, for generations and generations, through wind, hail, and ice, trees have foun ..read more

Canada Plum As much as all of us at DeVos Tree Care love trees for their natural beauty, their shade, and their environmental benefit, trees that also produce food for humans hold a special place in our hearts. We’ve already covered an unusual fruit-bearing tree in this series, but for this installment we’ll examine a tree with a familiar name: the Canada Plum. This small tree, also called Horse Plum, is native to the southern parts of eastern Canada, and in addition to its prodigious fruit-bearing abilities, the Canada Plum boasts a showy display of fragrant white flowers each spring, wh ..read more

Balsam Poplar As Old Man Winter once again sends his frosty chill across Ontario and we seek refuge from the cold, DeVos Tree Care talks about a native tree that isn’t chilled at all by Hamilton’s winter, a tree that can take even more frigid environments. Balsam Poplar Description Populus balsamifera, also commonly referred to as a poplar, balm poplar, black poplar, tacamahac, and balm of Gilead, is a medium-sized tree that is distributed through our nation from the Atlantic Coast and northern Quebec across to the Yukon and eastern British Columbia. The Balsam Poplar grows eagerly in Hamilton ..read more

Sugar Maple For us at DeVos Tree Care we ask; is there a more Canadian tree than the sugar maple? The national tree of Canada is, of course, cherished for its production of the sap that becomes maple syrup, a Canadian household staple. The leaf on the Canadian flag is based on a sugar maple leaf, although the leaf underwent some small, stylistic changes when it became the symbol on the flag. And sugar maples have been here in Canada long before Canada became a country, with the oldest one nearby in Pelham! One of ten maple varieties native to our region, the sugar maple is only found in our n ..read more

Basswood Our company boasts more tea drinkers than coffee drinkers, so the basswood tree is among our favorites. Why? Because its flowers are often used to produce a sweet, honey-flavored tea that’s among the most popular teas in Europe, and it’s a tree native to southwestern Ontario. This means our homemade teas (see these recipes) are about as local as you can get! And it isn’t just for when you need a nice cup of tea; the basswood (also called linden) tree is also an important pollinator, produces a soft hardwood capable of making electric guitar bodies, and is often planted as an ornamenta ..read more