Talking Trees with Davey Tree

Latest Episodes:

Trends in Gardening: Live at the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show! Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

Lou Meyer, arborist and business developer in Davey's Mid-Atlantic region, meets with host Doug Oster at the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show! Here, they discuss the latest trends in gardening, including recent planting choices, gardening designs, outdoor living and more.

To find your local Davey office, check out our find a local office page to search by zip code.

To learn more about gardening practices and techniques, read our blogs DIY Flower Bed: Tips for the Perfect Flower Bed, Landscape Design Idea for Privacy | Davey Blog and What Plant Hardiness Zone Am I In.

Connect with Davey Tree on social media:
Twitter: @DaveyTree
Facebook: @DaveyTree
Instagram: @daveytree
YouTube: The Davey Tree Expert Company
LinkedIn: The Davey Tree Expert Company

Connect with Doug Oster at www.dougoster.com.

Have topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Email us at podcasts@davey.com. We want to hear from you!

Have feedback, questions or a topic you want covered? Click here to send Talking Trees a message OR email podcasts@davey.com.

Five Tree Care Mistakes Homeowners Make: Five Years of Talking Trees! Jan 15, 2026

Show notes

Eric Countryman, district manager of Davey’s East Pittsburgh office and the first-ever guest on the podcast, joins host Doug Oster to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Talking Trees with Davey Tree! In this episode, they discuss five common tree and landscaping mistakes homeowners make in the first five years, along with tips on mulching, planting best practices and a special giveaway for listeners!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: This giveaway is now closed.

To find your local Davey office, check out our find a local office page to search by zip code.

To learn more about best tree and lawn care practices early on, read our blogs, First-Time, New Homeowner’s Guide To Lawn Care, In Too Deep?, Should I Mulch Around Trees or Not? Yes & Here's Why, How to Take Care of a Newly Planted Tree and Fact or Fiction: Five Ways You May Be Harming Your Trees.

Connect with Davey Tree on social media:
Twitter: @DaveyTree
Facebook: @DaveyTree
Instagram: @daveytree
YouTube: The Davey Tree Expert Company
LinkedIn: The Davey Tree Expert Company

Connect with Doug Oster at www.dougoster.com.

Have topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Email us at podcasts@davey.com. We want to hear from you!

Have feedback, questions or a topic you want covered? Click here to send Talking Trees a message OR email podcasts@davey.com.

Facing Frost Cracking: How to Protect Trees During Winter Jan 08, 2026

Show notes

Paul Vega from Davey's Elmsford office talks about how trees adapt to winter and how homeowners can take care of them during the colder months, including frost cracking, tree dormancy, safe winter work practices and preparing for spring.

To find your local Davey office, check out our find a local office page to search by zip code.

To learn more about trees during wintertime, read our blogs, Winter Sunscald and Frost Cracks on Trees, Winter Tree Protection: Three Proactive Tips and Can a Tree Freeze to Death in Winter?.

Connect with Davey Tree on social media:
Twitter: @DaveyTree
Facebook: @DaveyTree
Instagram: @daveytree
YouTube: The Davey Tree Expert Company
LinkedIn: The Davey Tree Expert Company

Connect with Doug Oster at www.dougoster.com.

Have topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Email us at podcasts@davey.com. We want to hear from you!

Have feedback, questions or a topic you want covered? Click here to send Talking Trees a message OR email podcasts@davey.com.

Hiring an Arborist in 2026: Why It Matters & What They Do Jan 01, 2026

Show notes

Jason Parker, district manager of Davey's Warminster office, walks us through what it's like to work with a Davey arborist, including the client relationship, consultations, proposals, price and safety for homeowners.

To find your local Davey office, check out our find a local office page to search by zip code.

To learn more about what an arborist visit is like, read our blogs, Why You Should Hire a Certified Arborist, What To Expect When You Request a Davey Tree Free Consultation and The Risk of Using an Uninsured and Unlicensed Arborist.

Connect with Davey Tree on social media:
Twitter: @DaveyTree
Facebook: @DaveyTree
Instagram: @daveytree
YouTube: The Davey Tree Expert Company
LinkedIn: The Davey Tree Expert Company

Connect with Doug Oster at www.dougoster.com.

Have topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Email us at podcasts@davey.com. We want to hear from you!

Have feedback, questions or a topic you want covered? Click here to send Talking Trees a message OR email podcasts@davey.com.

Winter Tree Care: Snow and Ice Protection, Pruning and More Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

Luke Brunner, arborist and business developer in Detroit, talks about what it takes to care for trees during the wintertime, including snow and ice protection, pruning, mulching and general planting tips.

In this episode we cover:

Should I leave the snow and ice on my tree? (0:58)
Should I treat young trees and mature trees differently in winter? (2:26)
Growing trees meant for different climates (3:06)
Oak and elm damage and pruning (7:02)
Maple and pine damage and pruning (11:00)
Do arborists work in severely cold weather? (12:36)
What Luke does as a business developer at Davey (13:45)
Volcano mulching (14:57)
Mulching trees in winter (17:17)
Luke's green giant arborvitaes (18:32)
Why this job is right for Luke (21:11)
Shoutout for Detroit (21:50)

To find your local Davey office, check out our find a local office page to search by zip code.

To learn more about winter tree care, read our blogs, Tree Care: Winter Tree Protection for Roots, Trunks and Branches, Don’t Skip a Winter Tree Inspection: Why Cold Weather Reveals Hidden Tree Risks, Seasonal Tree Care Checklist: How to Keep Trees Healthy This Winter and Protecting Newly Planted Trees from Frost & Cold Winter Weather.

Connect with Davey Tree on social media:
Twitter: @DaveyTree
Facebook: @DaveyTree
Instagram: @daveytree
YouTube: The Davey Tree Expert Company
LinkedIn: The Davey Tree Expert Company

Connect with Doug Oster at www.dougoster.com.

Have topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Email us at podcasts@davey.com. We want to hear from you!

Have feedback, questions or a topic you want covered? Click here to send Talking Trees a message OR email podcasts@davey.com.

Tour the Completed SEED Campus with Dr. Dan Herms Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

Dr. Dan Herms, vice president and general manager of the Davey Institute, takes us through Davey's newly completed SEED Campus. Since its opening in August 2025, several programs, trainings and initiatives have started taking place there, which is strengthening safety, training and research in the green industry. You can watch this podcast in video form to see the completed property come to life. Watch the YouTube video, Tour the Completed SEED Campus with Dr. Dan Herms.

In this episode we cover:

What does SEED stand for? (0:46)
Climbing center (1:12)
Sustainability (1:36)
- SITES certification and the stormwater retention program (2:00)
Dan's feelings about the SEED Campus opening (2:42)
Research initiatives (3:09)
Arboretum (3:48)
The Davey Institute offices, classrooms, archives and event center (4:17)
Golf greens (5:16)
Bog (5:41)
Training programs at SEED (6:38)
Utility training (7:29)
Canopy walk (8:21)
Greenhouses (9:28)
Tree research plantation (9:54)
Why is SEED important for Davey's clients? (10:35)
What's next for the campus? (11:11)
What are Dan's hopes for the future of the SEED Campus? (11:54)

To watch Doug's tour of the property with Dr. Herms, watch the video on YouTube here.

To learn more about the SEED Campus, visit www.Davey.com/SEED.

To find your local Davey office, check out our find a local office page to search by zip code.

Connect with Davey Tree on social media:
Twitter: @DaveyTree
Facebook: @DaveyTree
Instagram: @daveytree
YouTube: The Davey Tree Expert Company
LinkedIn: The Davey Tree Expert Company

Connect with Doug Oster at www.dougoster.com.

Have topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Email us at podcasts@davey.com. We want to hear from you!

Have feedback, questions or a topic you want covered? Click here to send Talking Trees a message OR email podcasts@davey.com.

How We Became Arborists: Career Stories from Davey Experts Dec 04, 2025

Show notes

Throughout the Talking Trees podcast, we’ve asked Davey employees questions like "How did you become an arborist?" and "Why is this job right for you?" In this special episode, we’ve compiled eight arborists' inspiring answers that share the journeys that brought our team to where they are today.

In this episode we cover the stories of:

Brad McBride, district manager of Davey's West Cleveland office (0:46)
Chelsi Abbott, plant pathologist with the Davey Institute (2:04)
Aaron Hoot, district manager of Davey's Dallas office (3:47)
Jason Parker, district manager of Davey's Warminster office (6:49)
Kevin Sproule, assistant district manager of Davey's Edmonton office (7:54)
Taylor Judd, sales arborist at Davey's East Denver office (9:02)
Joe Berg, district manager of Davey's East Bay office (11:05)
Natascha Batchelor, sales arborist at Hartney Greymont, a Davey company, in Cape Cod (12:31)

To learn more about careers at Davey, visit www.Davey.com/Careers.

To find your local Davey office, check out our find a local office page to search by zip code.

Connect with Davey Tree on social media:
Twitter: @DaveyTree
Facebook: @DaveyTree
Instagram: @daveytree
YouTube: The Davey Tree Expert Company
LinkedIn: The Davey Tree Expert Company

Connect with Doug Oster at www.dougoster.com.

Have topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Email us at podcasts@davey.com. We want to hear from you!

Have feedback, questions or a topic you want covered? Click here to send Talking Trees a message OR email podcasts@davey.com.

Five Winter Tree Care Myths Nov 20, 2025

Show notes

Jacob Ryg, district manager of Davey's South St. Paul office, debunks common winter tree care myths and shares practical tips to keep your landscape healthy throughout the season.

In this episode we cover:

Does a tree need water in the winter? (0:45)
How much watering does your tree need? (1:58)
Minnesota's season so far (2:30)
Should all pruning wait until spring? (2:52)
Snow and ice damage trees (4:38)
How to manage wet snow on trees (5:22)
Prune before winter sets in (6:33)
Can tree care wait until spring? (7:34)
Tree wraps (9:20)
Should you let trees heal themselves? (11:05)
Don't rake up all your leaves (12:29)
Prairie lawns (14:57)
Plants and grasses for prairie lawns (16:44)
Environmental impacts of prairie lawns (18:42)

To find your local Davey office, check out our find a local office page to search by zip code.

Connect with Davey Tree on social media:
Twitter: @DaveyTree
Facebook: @DaveyTree
Instagram: @daveytree
YouTube: The Davey Tree Expert Company
LinkedIn: The Davey Tree Expert Company

Connect with Doug Oster at www.dougoster.com.

Have topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Email us at podcasts@davey.com. We want to hear from you!

Have feedback, questions or a topic you want covered? Click here to send Talking Trees a message OR email podcasts@davey.com.

Can I Prune My Own Tree? Why or Why Not? Nov 13, 2025

Show notes

Matt Scott from Davey's Raleigh office talks all about tree pruning, including best practices, safety, ideal times to prune and why a certified arborist is best for the job.

In this episode we cover:

What can homeowners prune themselves? (0:46)
Assess if your tree needs pruning or not (1:42)
Safety while pruning (2:57)
Teaching clients to prune from the ground (4:00)
When is the right time to prune a tree? (5:45)
When to prune an oak or elm tree (7:28)
The worst things homeowners can do to trees (8:22)
Have a certified arborist prune your trees (9:24) (20:45)
The importance of the right tools (10:43)
Pruning cuts (12:36)
Fixing bad pruning mistakes (14:40)
The artistry of pruning (18:15)

To find your local Davey office, check out our find a local office page to search by zip code.

To learn more about pruning and tree care, read our blogs, What is Pruning? Importance, Benefits & Methods of Pruning, Signs Your Trees Need Pruning and our other pruning blogs.

Connect with Davey Tree on social media:
Twitter: @DaveyTree
Facebook: @DaveyTree
Instagram: @daveytree
YouTube: The Davey Tree Expert Company
LinkedIn: The Davey Tree Expert Company

Connect with Doug Oster at www.dougoster.com.

Have topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Email us at podcasts@davey.com. We want to hear from you!

Have feedback, questions or a topic you want covered? Click here to send Talking Trees a message OR email podcasts@davey.com.

Sweet Gum: The Beautiful Yet Controversial Tree Nov 06, 2025

Show notes

Lou Meyer from Davey's Mid-Atlantic region talks all about the sweet gum tree, including its biology, unique features and pros and cons.

In this episode we cover:

Sweet gum's spiky seeds (1:35)
Why are they called "sweet gum?" (4:12)
How large do they get? (6:00)
Sweet gums aren't planted much (7:03)
What to do about your sweet gum's surface roots (9:07)
Where do they grow? (10:52)
Are the black gum and sweet gum related? (11:39)
Sweet gum identifying features (12:42)
Crafts with sweet gum seeds (14:54)
Fruit regulators (16:00)
Do sweet gums belong in the forest? (18:15)

To find your local Davey office, check out our find a local office page to search by zip code.

To learn more about tree species, read Davey's Tree Identification blogs, such as Tree Identification: Do I Have a Sweetgum Tree and more.

Connect with Davey Tree on social media:
Twitter: @DaveyTree
Facebook: @DaveyTree
Instagram: @daveytree
YouTube: The Davey Tree Expert Company
LinkedIn: The Davey Tree Expert Company

Connect with Doug Oster at www.dougoster.com.

Have topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Email us at podcasts@davey.com. We want to hear from you!

Have feedback, questions or a topic you want covered? Click here to send Talking Trees a message OR email podcasts@davey.com.

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