Graf Tree Care Services

Disease & Pest Control

Graf Tree Care specializes in the diagnostics and treatment of tree and shrub diseases and insect problems. Fixing tree problems is difficult, so we believe in a preventative approach to insect and disease control.  In many cases, our first encounter with a tree is when it is in a diseased state or when it is already in poor health. Trees are living things and they are difficult to "fix". Our approach is to evaluate our client's trees and anticipate what problems we commonly see that the tree may eventually have. Preventative treatments are always much easier, effective, and cost less.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Graf Tree Care is now helping municipalities, park districts, golf courses, land developers, and even homeowners to manage their natural resources with  the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  You may ask "what is GIS and how can it be used in the tree care industry?"  Well, here is an explanation of what GIS is and how we use it.

Lawn Care Service

Graf Tree Care launched it's new lawn care division at the beginning of the 2009 season. Paul Deckman, a veteran lawn are expert and PHC operator, was appointed to head up this new division. After years of explaining to our customers about how some accepted lawn care practices are not always the best for our trees, we decided to do it ourselves.

Landscape Lighting Design & Installation

Moonscape is the premier landscape lighting company in the Chicagoland area having a great reputation for more than 25 years. Graf Tree worked closely with Moonscape as a subcontractor from 2000-2007 installing downlights high in the canopy of trees to mimic the moonlit effect, a very artistic and unique touch to enhance the evening landscape. In January of 2008, Graf Tree acquired Moonscape and made it a division of Graf Tree Care. Although it is still it's own separate company, we share the same office and shop and the employees offer each other help when needed.

Native Restoration Services

Graf Tree Care is proud to announce that we are now offering native landscaping as part of our suite of services. Native landscaping makes use of perennial flowers and grasses native to the Midwest as an alternative to traditional turf grass or brush. Native flowers and grasses have more extensive root development than lawn grass, leading to more extensive soil development and greater overall soil health. Additionally, these extensive root systems are able to seek out water from much deeper in the soil profile, meaning the days of tedious and expensive watering are over. Because they're perennial, these species will come back every year without the need for replanting. And of course the unique aesthetics and character of native landscaping will provide conversation fodder for years to come.

Professional Arborist Training

In addition to being passionate about working with trees, we also take pride in passing on what we know. We have many years of experience in the field of Arboriculture and enjoy working with others to develop their skills.

Tree Root Feeding

Graf Tree Care specializes in Plant Health Care, and out of all of our usual applications, root feeding is our absolute specialty in the world of tree heatlh. We have definitely found our niche in specialty root feeding by using the right fertilizers at the right time on the right trees. What may be the right fertilizer, timing and application method for one tree may not be beneficial for another. Over time, we have steered ourselves away from broadcast fertilizers for all trees that can be inefficient for us and our customers both. Let's start by explaining why root feeding is important in the urban landscape.

Planting Trees & Tree Installation

Graf Tree Care does limited tree installation. When it comes to large installation jobs, or jobs that require a professional landscape design please contact Wasco Nursery.

EAB Action Plans.

For property and estate managers, golf course superintendents, municipal arborists, and park districts this is very important. The first step is the collection of data for a professional inventory of your Ash trees. This data includes exact GPS locations, size, and condition of each tree. This data is then analyzed to aid us in moving forward with a strategic plan. These plans usually include the removal of trees in fair to poor condition and systemically treating the trees we want to save. Complete with cost study analysis. Click here to download our EAM Action Plan brochure.