I understand that you want a one-stop yard service that can do it all.  I want a one-stop marketing agency that can do it all. My daughter wants Santa Claus to be real.

In my experience, none of those exist.

This article is about lawn services that we don’t provide and why.  Effective training, expertise and whether we think something works for a Colorado lawn are all factors we consider before unveiling new lawn care services.

Here are six services we don’t offer and why.

1. Power raking – Power raking takes a lot of the thatch out of the grass. That’s fine in the South and rainier environments along the East or West Coast. We believe it isn’t good for Colorado lawns because it is much drier here.

Power raking strips away the thatch which naturally helps the soil zone retain water. On average, Denver only gets seven more inches of rain than Phoenix.

2.  Overseeding – We pondered offering this service in conjunction with our lawn aeration and lawn fertilization services but decided against it.

The reason is it really can rip up the grass over the short run. Secondly, birds eat a lot of the seeds before they can take root in the soil.

3.  Lawn mowing – Nothing wrong with mowing lawns. Just, there are a ton of mowing guys out there who do it very well. Try Craigslist in Denver for that.

4. Sprinkler work – We did offer this service for our first 10 years in business. But as David, the owner and operations manager was called to manage seven crews instead of three, we in turn lost our best irrigation tech, again David. When we find the right people and right training program we may offer irrigation again.

5. Sod – We have installed sod but we don’t control the watering schedule . It’s really hard to guarantee the sod will get the incredible amount of water it needs to take root.

6. Tree Planting – One in eight newly planted trees don’t make it. Since we don’t source our own trees it made it very difficult for us to live up to our guarantees.

Instead we recommend Jared’s Tree Nursery. We’ve arranged a 5% discount with Jared’s when you mention ArborScape’s website.  They sell high quality trees,  have a good guarantee and a team of tree installers they work with.

So what should you do? Start with a Denver lawn aeration.

It makes everything else including Nature work better.

PT/Temp 24 hours per week,  Monday through Wednesday,  March through October.

Compensation: $10/hour. Opportunity for hours in winter possible if you learn our system well.

Great for students or someone who wants to go from little internet marketing knowledge to a lot, very quickly.

Reports to:  Matt Johnson, Marketing Director and David Merriman, Commercial Marketing Manager and Operations Manager.

Duties:

Daily –

• Post an article, picture, or news infographic on one of our website properties.
• (Most important) Follow internal content standards exactly.
• Check traffic reports within WordPress.
• Typing and marketing support for commercial estimating team. This may include driving and bit of event marketing work.
• Research and Training within  “Marketing Manual – Arborscape.”

Weekly –

• (Most important) Document questions and file a brief report every Wednesday.
• Sending out email campaigns.
• Basic SEO analysis as directed by Matt Johnson.
• Filling out Marketing Analysis spreadsheet.
• Check weekly numbers and fill in Marketing Report Excel Database.
• Writing letters for human resources.
• Compile leads for the week.
• WordPress Training.
• Google Apps Training.

Monthly

• Basic SEO projects as directed by our SEO agency
• Monthly meeting with our SEO agency.  You will be expected to be directing this meeting within three months.
• Check year over year traffic for the month and find out traffic from last year for the approaching month.

Requirements:

• Two years experience with email and internet research.
• Ability to write 300 word articles.

Apply by email to arborscapeservices@gmail.com answering the above requirements.

Thanks,

David and Matt

Requirements:

• Valid and current CO drivers license.
• Ability to obtain a CDL within six months of hire.
• Two years experience trimming, tree removal or grounds work.

You are flexible as the job may require tree pruning, tree removal and grounds work. Compensation: $9 to $15 depending on experience.

There is an opportunity for rapid advancement for the right person.

We appreciate persistence and willingness to learn ISA standards and tree service safety standards.

Apply for the job.  Tree Trimmer

City of Denver requires all pruning done to iSA standards.

Requirements:

• Valid and current CO drivers license.
• Friendly and comfortable with customers.
• Ability to learn the following application processes within three months of hire:

1. Deep root fertilization.
2. Tree applications.
3. Lawn applications.
4. Soil injection.

Must be able to learn and master tree identification and pest diagnosis within six months of hire.

Preferred:

• One years experience in tree or lawn spraying.
• CO pesticide applicator or supervisor license.
• One year’s driving experience in Denver metro.
• Comfortable with math or numbers to properly mix and formulate products.

You are flexible as the job requires skill work with trees and skill working with customers. Horticulture or arboriculture students welcome to apply.

Compensation: $9 to $15/hour depending on experience.

There is an opportunity for rapid advancement for the right person.

We appreciate persistence and willingness to learn ISA standards and tree service safety standards.

Apply for the job by clicking on link.  Tree Spraying/Plant Health Care Tech

Good phone manner, legible handwriting, ability to find locations within a map book and familiarity with MS Word, internet research and attention to detail are all important.

Hours are 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday. The physical location is 3165 S. Zuni St. Denver, CO 80110

Apply for Office Admin Position – ArborScape Tree Service

Benefits include less environmental impact and better preservation of beneficial insects to the woody plant.

Dormant oils increased in popularity over the past 50 years as homeowners and property managers looked for more natural and eco-friendly ways to control undesirable insects.

Successful tests indicate a solid correlation between applying dormant oil and a decrease in populations. In turn, fewer contact general spraying with pesticides was required.

Dormant oil traps eggs before they hatch

Also referred to as horticulture oil or emulsifying spray, dormant oils have been used for centuries to stop insects in the scale family from attacking fruit trees.

Dormant oils in Denver are very effective on needle scale on pine trees.

Back East they are effective against scale on Apple and Crabapple trees, hence their long usage history.

Dormant oil works by entering tiny holes in the trees known as spiracles and smothering insects and their eggs while they overwinter in the tree.

Recently, neem oils, made from India’s neem tree, gained popularity as a more natural dormant oil.

Advanced distillation techniques have created a new family, called horticulture oil, that can be applied in summer without staining nearby trees

Despite the hopes of customers who want true organic options, dormant oils are not considered organic.

Dormant oil leaves little residue in your yard and most arborists agree that it’s much greener than other types of sprays. They can stain dark surfaces such as a deck, so apply carefully.

If you manage a particularly large property that has tens or hundreds of trees it should be the cornerstone of preventive measures.

“We are giving preference to homes with good slots on the west side of their property but as you can see on the website, trees may be planted in other parts,” Davis said. “The city tree inspector can determine that when he or she visits.”

This program expires in three weeks (February 15^th, 2012) so hurry! Here’s the link and make sure you know what Denver neighborhood you’re in before filling out the 2012 trees for energy savings application

This map may help. More about the program below.

In Denver County, planting trees on the west side of homes conserves energy costs.  Plus city volunteers will deliver and plant your tree for free!

According to the Mile High Million website:

• Trees must be planted on the west side of your house and may be planted in your front, back and side yards or in the public right-of-way.
• Denver Forestry staff will recommend the best tree(s) and planting locations for your yard.
• We deliver and plant your tree(s).
• We call your underground utilities to be marked.

Funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to improve community energy efficiency.

The main restriction is that trees must be planted on the west side of your home

This turn key offer includes free planting.  If you don’t know how to plant a tree properly,  don’t assume you do! Get help from DenverDigs

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About the Author: Matt Johnson publishes
tree removal and tree care information. He’s not
a tree hugger but does love them, mainly for their
oxygen. Join his
email list to take better care of your
trees and ensure oxygen for you and yours.
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ArborScape is closed the week of December 26th, 2011, returning
Monday, January 2nd, 2012.

Happy New Year!