From the ground up: Harsh winter damages trees

We found this great article on thegazette.com that looks at the effect winter will have on your trees and garden. Click here to read or begin below.


"From the ground up: Harsh winter damages trees"
By Lisa Slattery

Winter isn't giving up easily this year, but we know spring will come --eventually-- and with it may come signs of damaged trees and shrubs. Temperature drops to minus 20 degrees is cold enough to leave behind some fruit tree species that may have adverse effects from this winter's extreme cold are peach and sweet cherry trees. Iowa gardeners should expect poor cops on peaches and sweet cherries this summer. Peach trees are not reliable cold hardy in much of Iowa and temps below minus 18 will destroy flower buds on peach trees, while temps of minus 25 or below may destroy the peach trees themselves.

Click here to read the entire article.

Monster Tree Service featured in Lawn & Landscape

Monster Tree were recently featured in Lawn & Landscape in an article discussing Monster Tree Service's CEO Josh Skolnick career path, specifically how he became the founder and owner of Monster Tree Service. Josh also discusses the systems and processes of the company and how he has been so successful at such a young age. The article also discusses franchise investment information as well as quick tips about tree services. Click here to read the article or begin below.

"Designed playbook - Formulas for Success"
By Kristen Hampshire

Thinking about adding on to your landscape business? Why not explore a ready-made system?
The secret's in the system. And that's exactly why entrepreneurs invest in a franchise. They're buying a business that can enhance an existing offering or thrive as a stand-alone operation. In the landscape world, there is a range of complementary services that can attract new customers, round out a service mix, separate a firm from its competitors and rake in more revenue.

Of course, the bonus of a franchise is that the plays are already in the book. You can leap over any learning curve because of vast support networks (depending on the franchise you choose.) This month, Lawn & Landscape spoke to a few franchisors about their add-on opportunities.


Click here to read the entire article.

5 Ways How Tree Services Beautify and Protect Your Landscaping

We've found a great article on landscaping.answers.com titled, "5 Ways How Tree Service Beautify and Protect Your Landscaping". The article provides some great insight on how to properly maintain and care for the trees on your property. It shows us 5 great tips on how to ensure your trees remain healthy and suggests hiring tree services to maintain to the health of your trees. Click here to read the article or being below.

"5 Ways How Tree Service Beautify and Protect Your Landscaping"
By landscaping.answers.com

Trees not only beautify and frame your landscaping, but they add monetary value to your property, too. That is why it is important to properly maintain and care for the trees in your yard. Homeowners who hire tree services to attend to the health of their trees can look forward to years of enjoyment and shade from their trees. However, there are other reasons to consider hiring a tree service that go beyond aesthetics.

Protect Your Property
Trees or limbs that have begun to tor pose a danger to you and the members of your household. All it can take is a spring storm to send that dead branch crashing down onto your roof. You can prevent damage to your home by taking care of dead branches as soon as possible. Homeowners may be afraid that the entire tree may need to come down, but many times just removing the branch can stop the damage from spreading. Of course, you won't know until you have an expert inspect your tree.

Click here to read the entire article. 

Advice for Picking the Perfect Tree

Tallahassee Magazine has an article about how to pick out a perfect tree for you. The article discusses how to properly chose and site trees that can add pleasure and value to your home. To read the full article click here or see below.

Advice for Picking the Perfect Tree

By: Audrey Post

Advice for Picking the Perfect Tree

Q: What are the best trees to plant in the home landscape? We recently bought a newly constructed house on a large lot in an upscale subdivision, but it’s pretty wide open with just a couple of pine trees. Also, are there any tips on how to plant a tree?

Good for you! Trees enhance property both aesthetically and financially, so they’re a smart addition to your yard. Proper planning and planting will give you years to enjoy your trees and help you avoid problems that can cost additional time, labor and money. They can also help reduce your energy bill. In the South, trees planted on the west and northwest sides of houses have the most impact on your energy consumption.

First, you need to check to make sure there aren’t any restrictive covenants on your property or in your neighborhood that would limit your choices. Those should have been spelled out when you closed on your home purchase, but check your paperwork.

The next step is to figure out why you want trees. Seriously. Most people have a function in mind when they want to add trees to their yard, and the best trees for them are the ones that fulfill that function. Do you want shade for the house? Would you like a privacy screen from the neighbors’ view? Do you want to provide a haven for wildlife? Do you envision trees that bear fruit as well as provide visual interest? Once you know why you want trees, and you’re not limited to just one answer, you’re better prepared to select and site your trees.

(Read More)

What’s really killing Texas trees?

In an article for AgriLife Today, Dr. Eric Taylor, Texas AgriLife Extension Service forestry specialist, says that there are many factors that have been killing trees in Texas lately, beyond drought. Read more to see how preventative maintenance can stop many of these problems!

What's Really Killing Texas Trees?
By Robert Burns

Although drought is often the cause, trees can die for other reasons besides lack of soil moisture, said Dr. Eric Taylor, Texas AgriLife Extension Service forestry specialist, Overton.

“Drought is the primary contributor to tree kill, but it may not be exactly the way you might be thinking,” Taylor said. “You may find this hard to believe, but relatively few trees likely died directly from dehydration in 2011. Instead, the 2011 drought severely weakened mature trees, making them susceptible to opportunistic pathogens like hypoxylon canker and insects like pine bark engraver beetles.”

He said that in most instances, the trees that died in 2011 were already stressed from a number of pre-existing environmental factors such as overcrowding, growing on the wrong site, age, soil compaction, trenching or inappropriate use of herbicides. If not for these factors, a large proportion of the trees that died might have recovered from the drought.

“This is an important concept to remember because our best defense against drought is to promote a tree’s health and vigor through proper care and management,” Taylor said.

(Read More)

Monster Tree Service Featured in Turf Magazine

Monster Tree Service was recently featured in Turf Magazine in an article titled,“Why Not Add Tree Services, Too?.” The article discusses how landscaper Josh Skolnick stumbled into the tree maintenance industry, founding a multi-millionaire dollar company, Monster Tree Service. Josh discusses franchise opportunities, and why someone with a landscaping company would benefit from integrating Monster Tree Service into their current business. Click here to read the entire article.

Why Not Add Tree Services, Too?

By Ron Hall

In June 2008, a client asked landscape professional Josh Skolnick to take down a 70-foot-tall elm tree. Skolnick, 25 at the time, had never taken down a tree before. But, since he constantly told clients "we're a full-service company," he hired an experienced tree contractor to remove the elm.

That's when he discovered an opportunity. Leaving the arborist to dismantle the tree, he literally went door to door offering tree removals and related services in the suburban Philadelphia neighborhood where his Skolnick Landscaping had been providing landscape services. In just four hours he sold $20,000 in tree work.

Suddenly, Skolnick was in the tree business.

(Read more)

Monster Tree featured on the Central Pennsylvania Business Journal website

Monster Tree Service was recently featured on the Central Pennsylvania Business Journal website in an article titled,“Tree service franchise looks to expand into Central Pa.” The article discussed how Monster Tree Service came to be, the aggressive expansion plans within Pennsylvania, as well as throughout the East Coast, and business opportunities for entrepreneurs wanting to own their own business as well as people already involved in the tree care industry. Click here to read the entire article.

Tree service franchise looks to expand into Central Pa.  

By: Jason Scott  

A Montgomery County tree-management company that recently made the move to franchising has set its sights on growing up and down the East Coast, including in Central Pennsylvania.

Four years ago, repeated customer inquiries about tree services prompted landscaper Josh Skolnick to make the move into the tree maintenance business.

Without ever felling a tree himself, Skolnick launched Monster Tree Service, an executive-style model that gives budding business owners an opportunity to hire experts in the trade. It also gives local professionals the option of marketing their services under a brand.

“You don’t have to know how to cut trees or climb trees,” Skolnick said. “You have to be willing to learn and manage a business.”

(Read More)

Monster Tree featured in Buffalo Business First

Monster Tree Service was recently featured in Buffalo Business First in an article titled,“Pa. tree service would like cut of Buffalo market.” The article discussed how Monster Tree Service is aggressively expanding into the Buffalo market, with potential to sell three to five franchisees in the area. Josh Skolnick discussed why the Buffalo market is a desirable landscape for his tree maintenance business and details about the business for prospective franchisees. Click here to read the entire article.

Pa. tree service would like cut of Buffalo market

By: James Fink

Monster Tree Service, a Pennsylvania-based lawn and tree care service, has identified the Buffalo Niagara market as one of the places where the company would like to expand.

Josh Skolnick, who founded Monster Tree Service four years ago, said the Buffalo area is perfect for his company’s expansion plan.

“There appears to be a lot of activity there,” Skolnick said.

(Read More)

Monster Tree Service featured on 1851project.com

Monster Tree Service was featured in 1851 as one of the top 10 franchises for entrepreneurs. Check out the complete article here!

http://www.1851project.com/the-top-10-franchises-for-entrepreneurs-under-30/

We are new and improved!

Check out the new and improved Monster Tree Service website at www.whymonster.com! We've revamped the look, feel, and functionality of the site to make it better for you, the consumer!

Money Grows on Trees

Entrepreneur Makes Money Grow on Trees: Monster Tree Service Branches Out with Franchise Launch: Landscaper turned tree trimmer brings skills, training and professionalism to high-demand fragmented industry


FORT WASHINGTON, Penn.—Josh Skolnick, a career landscaper who started a multi-crew lawn care service while in high school, was often asked by customers to address their tree problems. Having no experience himself, he regularly subcontracted the task of customers’ requests to tree specialists who could handle the job. Ever the entrepreneur, Skolnick quickly realized there was opportunity to capitalize by incorporating tree care into his business.

“I’d never removed a tree in my life, so I got others to manage that area of landscaping—until I saw the money they were making,” said 28-year-old Fort Washington-native Skolnick. “I thought, ‘What’s wrong here?’ If they can do it, so can I. There’s a tremendous amount of money in it and I wanted a piece of that pie.”

Four years ago, Skolnick founded Monster Tree Service (MTS) to augment his existing landscaping firm. Without ever pruning or removing a tree himself, he hired existing professionals to work under his brand and led the firm to become a highly profitable multimillion dollar business which has grown to multiple crews. With multiple experts in the trade to assist him, Skolnick developed a system he recognized as highly duplicable, so he moved to franchise MTS in April 2012.

“A lot of tree guys are fly-by-night companies that have a pickup truck, some ladders and saws and physically climb trees to do the work,” said Skolnick, adding that MTS crews use bucket trucks and cranes to take down large trees. He said very few of those companies know how to hire large crews, manage their books or even grow their firms to a size that would support long-term employees seeking security and benefits. Skolnick notes how marketing is an integral part of MTS, with many independent tree contractors underestimating the importance of grassroots marketing and losing out on profit potential and market ownership.

“I know that most of these guys—even if they’re good at what they do—will never make the money on their own that we could teach them to make from day one. We have it down to a system: how to manage crews, schedule them, buy or rent the right equipment, get customers and take care of them in a timely fashion.” Adds Skolnick, “We even have certified arborists on staff who know what customers’ trees need. Everything we do is completely different from the typical tree guys.”

Monster Tree Service uses state-of-the-art science and equipment to address tree issues ranging from restoration to difficult pruning to complete removal. Customers receive quick responses from fully uniformed staff operating branded trucks and equipment, and they’re charged competitive prices. “We hear all the time from our customers that we make this process easy for them. We give estimates in hours, not days, and that means a lot in the industry we’re in.”

As he seeks to expand his business in the Northeastern U.S., Skolnick said he’s looking for franchisees who know how to manage businesses and the crews that do the work—not be hands-on operators.

“I’ve built a substantial business without ever removing a tree myself,” he said. “I knew how to hire the experts that wanted to belong to an established business they were proud to work for and that they could rely on to keep them busy. That’s what we bring to an industry that lacks a high level of professionalism, and that’s why we know this will be a successful franchise concept.”