By Catherine Caperello
Don’t talk to Richard Hutchinson about the economic downturn that so many of us read about or see every day. For Pennington arborist and owner of the catchy-named tree service, Arbor Barber, business is a-boomin’.
“We’re busier every year,” said Hutchinson, whose crew of six is finally caught up on the damage caused by violent thunderstorms and high winds which wreaked havoc on the area over the past month. “With trees on homes and business, we’ve been extremely busy and we’re just getting caught up on all that stuff now.”
Hutchinson started the business in 1987, fresh out of high school, starting from a love of trees and plants. Now his group is working on the Straube Center in Pennington in addition to taking care of storm damage.
For the 2010 season, Hutchinson is adding more to the usual arboreal services of pruning, brush clearing, tree removal and stump grinding – he has three employees who will be taking classes at Rutgers to add spraying and tree injections to the menu of services offered next year.
“Injections and spraying for tree fungus, insects, and prevention,” says Hutchinson, “that kind of thing.”
There’s probably a lot you didn’t know about the importance of consulting with a professional about your tree and brush clearing needs. Hutchinson wants to bolster that knowledge with his businesses Web site, arborbarbertree.com. For example: Did you know that if a tree’s root system is damaged even by as little as 10 percent, the tree can fall over or die? That’s because the root system not only provides the physical support for the weight of the tree, but also provides water and nutrients vital for the tree to be in good health and get optimal sugar-production from the leaves.
Okay, maybe that was easy. But what’s bacterial leaf scorch? Which insects are actually beneficial to the life of the trees on your property? Arbor Barber’s Web site answers these questions and many more that you probably never thought you needed to know. When you own your own business, it’s good to be busy, and although Hutchinson and crew are finally getting out from under summer storm damage, there is no rest for the weary.
“We’re starting with winter maintenance now,” said Hutchinson, who does most of his work in around a 15-mile radius of Pennington, “We’re thinning trees, conifers, lightening the tips up so the snow can fall through them.”
It’s that kind of routine maintenance which will keep you from discovering a snow-laden branch right smack across the car in your driveway, or worse-yet, your home come January.
For more information, call (609) 730-8199. The Web site includes Hutchinson’s cell phone number for emergency service.
Richard Hutchinson, the Arbor Barber, always seems to keep busy. (Staff photo.),
