Leaflets on Arboriculture and Tree Care
They were designed to assist you in your arboriculture projects, whether it is for hiring an arboriculture contractor, planting a tree, or for pruning and maintaining your trees.
These documents are available for free in PDF format. Click on the image to download the leaflets.
Other resources used with permission
The law explained by Éducaloi - Trees and fences Éducaloi
Tree resources Arbres Canada
Trees, insects and forest diseases of Canada Natural Resources Canada
Exotic forest insect guide (ACIA)
30 years of pruning with Charles Moreau (From the Québec-Vert magazine February 2008 issue)
Fruit pruning and the arrival of spring
Two professions that coexist: Horticulturist and arboriculturist... what's the difference?
Visual awareness of the condition of the tree (11 MB)
Visual document on the condition of the urban tree created by Bernard Blareau for the Centre du Paysage ASBL (Europe). This downloadable visual dossier is essential for raising awareness among tree managers and companies about the living conditions of urban trees to guide their choices!
Important
Some texts cited in reference were published several years ago. Although the general data remain the same, some have changed, especially the rates.
In 2024, the cost of hiring a team of skilled pruners may range around $250 to $300 an hour. You might find cheaper... but keep in mind that to cut prices, safety and service quality have likely been compromised.
Terms Related to Arboriculture
To help you demystify the different terms used in pruning, here are some definitions of the work generally carried out in arboriculture.
First, the term "pruner" or "pruning" is no longer in use. We rather speak of pruning work. This work is carried out by pruners, workers who possess the best knowledge to properly maintain your trees. The pruner is actually the practitioner.
The arborist is the manager who possesses the knowledge to supervise the management of the tree heritage. They can also have training as a pruner, in which case they are called an arborist-pruner.
ARBORICULTURE GLOSSARY
TREE FELLING
Operation that consists of removing an entire tree from the ground.
ARBORIST
A professional with the technical skills, acquired through experience and adequate training, to ensure or supervise the management of trees and other woody plants in residential, commercial, and public settings.
CHIPPING
Chipping is the action of shredding tree branches and sometimes the trunk into chips. This operation is carried out using a chipper.
PRUNER
Person with the technical knowledge and the ability to perform arboricultural work safely.
CLIMBING PRUNER
Person with the technical knowledge and abilities to perform pruning work at height in trees safely.
LOPPER
A person whose job is to remove new shoots from a tree originating from dormant buds. The term "lopper" should not be used today. It is considered an old term used to describe someone who prunes trees. Instead, the term "pruner" should be used.
LOPPING
The term "loping" should no longer be used in arboriculture unless cutting suckers is the only operation performed on a tree. It is a complementary operation to pruning, which involves removing only the new shoots or suckers appearing on the lower half of the tree trunk that originate from dormant buds. Today, work done on trees is pruning work.
PRUNING
Pruning is a technique that involves cutting, reducing, or removing branches, twigs, shoots, roots, flowers, or fruits from a plant to improve the structure, clearance of infrastructure, as well as vegetation, flowering, fruiting, shape, ornamental appearance, and health. A common synonym for pruning is trimming. Often wrongly called "loping," pruning is a common and necessary practice in urban areas. Your arborist will be able to suggest the best work to be done on your tree, according to its needs.
- Safety Pruning: Pruning that involves removing dead, diseased, weak, or broken branches, as well as those that pose a potential danger to people and property.
- Directional Pruning: Pruning aimed at trimming and redirecting branches that could affect or hinder overhead public utility networks or other structures while keeping well-oriented branches in place.
- Thinning Pruning: Pruning that involves removing some of the branches on the framework to aerate and lighten the tree's canopy without changing its shape. This type of pruning allows for better sunlight on your property.
- Sanitizing Pruning: Pruning that involves removing dead, diseased, interfering, harmful, broken branches, etc., to keep the tree in good condition. This type of pruning also includes the control of stubs, suckers, and shoots.
STUMPING
Operation that consists of stumping, i.e., removing from a land the stumps that remain after tree felling. There are different types of stumping, such as chipping or uprooting.
Stumping by chipping is carried out using a stump grinder (stump crusher), in order to reduce part or all of a tree stump into chips. The tree residues that remain on the ground will decompose in the soil over time. This technique is often less expensive and less damaging to your land.
Stumping using a backhoe allows for the complete extraction of the tree stump from the soil, along with the adjacent roots.
BRACING
Bracing is a technique that involves installing cables or rods into a tree's structure to provide additional support to weakened branches and forks. There are different types of bracing, such as flexible and rigid bracing. Your arborist will be able to advise on the best system to install if needed.