Ace Tree Service

Birmingham's soil gets hard and dry by mid-summer, and trees feel it long before the canopy shows obvious damage. Thinning leaves, early color change, and small leaf size are all signs that roots aren't pulling in what the tree needs.

ACE's deep root fertilization gets nutrients and micronutrients down into the root zone itself, well below the compacted surface layer where a typical lawn treatment stops. Adam Elliott, ACE's ISA Certified Arborist, builds each treatment plan around the specific species and soil conditions on the property, not a one-size-fits-all mix.

Trees that go into fall with a strong root system come out of winter stronger and handle next summer's heat with a lot less stress. It's a quieter fix than pruning or removal, but it often matters more for long-term tree health.

Have you noticed any of your trees looking thinner or dropping leaves early this summer, even though it's nowhere close to fall?

When severe weather rolls through Central Alabama, the aftermath is rarely just one downed limb. It's often a yard full of debris, a damaged fence line, and a tree that's now leaning at an angle it wasn't the day before. ACE's storm cleanup process starts with a hazard walkthrough before any cutting begins, because the priority is making the property safe first.

From there, our crews remove hanging or broken limbs that pose an ongoing risk, clear debris, and assess whether any remaining trees need further work like cabling, pruning, or removal to prevent a repeat problem next storm.

Summer storm season in Alabama can hit fast and hard. Having a crew that knows how to prioritize safety first and cleanup second makes the difference in how quickly a property gets back to normal.

Has a storm ever left your yard with damage you weren't sure how to prioritize first?

ISA certification isn't a one-time test. It's a standard that has to be maintained through continuing education, and it's one ACE takes seriously year after year. Arboriculture changes, new pest threats show up, new techniques get developed, and staying certified means staying current with all of it.

That ongoing training shows up in the field in ways customers don't always see directly: a crew that recognizes a disease symptom early, a hazard assessment that catches something a less-trained eye would miss, a pruning cut made correctly the first time so the tree heals instead of decaying.

We think of certification as a floor, not a ceiling. Continuing education is how a company earns the trust that comes with being called the local expert instead of just claiming it.

When you've hired a service company before, has it mattered to you whether the people doing the work were actually trained and certified for it?

Some pest and disease problems don't respond well to a surface spray, especially on a tall, established tree where coverage is inconsistent. That's when ACE turns to micro-injection, a treatment method that delivers pesticide or fungicide directly into the tree's vascular system through small injection points at the base.

Because the treatment moves through the tree itself rather than sitting on the bark or leaves, it holds up better against rain, reaches the upper canopy more reliably, and reduces the amount of product that ends up in the surrounding soil and air.

We use micro-injection most often for borer activity, certain fungal issues, and stubborn infestations that haven't responded to other treatments. It's one more tool in a full-service arborist's kit, and it's part of why ACE treats trees as living systems rather than just removing the problem.

Have you had a tree treated for pests or disease before, and did you know there was more than one way to do it?

If you've noticed small, spindle-shaped bags hanging off your cedar, juniper, or arborvitae, you're looking at bagworms, and early August is exactly when they get noticeable. The larvae have been feeding quietly for weeks, and by now the damage, thinning, browning, dead patches, is visible from the street.

Bagworms are easy to underestimate because the bags look almost decorative at first glance. Left alone, a heavy infestation can defoliate and eventually kill an evergreen, especially a younger one that hasn't built up enough reserves to recover.

ACE treats bagworm infestations as part of our Integrated Pest Management program, timing treatment to catch the larvae while they're still active and feeding. The earlier we catch it, the less canopy damage the tree ends up carrying into fall.

Have you spotted any of these little hanging bags on your evergreens this summer?

A mature oak with a wide, co-dominant split in its trunk doesn't always need to come down. In a lot of cases, it needs support. ACE installs cabling and bracing systems that redistribute the load across weak unions, giving a structurally compromised tree years, sometimes decades, of extra life without removal.

We see this most often on older shade trees around Birmingham's established neighborhoods, the ones planted 40 or 50 years ago with a fork low in the trunk. That fork is a beautiful shape and a real liability if the wood inside hasn't fused well. An ISA Certified Arborist can tell the difference between a union that just looks risky and one that actually is.

Cabling isn't a fix for every situation. Sometimes the safest and most honest answer really is removal. But when a tree can be saved, we'd rather save it, and cabling is one of the tools that makes that possible.

Do you have a big old tree in your yard with a split trunk or a low fork you've always wondered about? What's its story?

A construction project next door, a new driveway, or a home addition can quietly kill a mature oak years before anyone notices the damage.

Heavy equipment compacting soil over a root zone, grade changes that bury roots too deep, and trenching for utilities all interfere with a tree's ability to take up water and nutrients. The damage often doesn't show up in the canopy until a season or two later, by which point it's much harder to reverse.

ACE works with homeowners and contractors to map root zones, install protective fencing, and adjust grading plans before work starts, so a legacy oak that took decades to grow doesn't become collateral damage from a project that took a few weeks.

Do you have a construction or landscaping project coming up near a large, older tree you'd hate to lose?

A tree doesn't wait for business hours to come down on a fence, a car, or a roofline, and neither does ACE's crew.

Being always open means someone on the team is reachable at 2 a.m. after a storm just as much as 2 p.m. on a Tuesday. That standard shapes how the crew is staffed and how equipment stays ready between jobs, not just how the phone gets answered.

It's a commitment that costs more to maintain than a standard 8-to-5 schedule, but it's the difference between a family waiting until Monday for someone to look at a tree leaning over their driveway and getting it handled the night it happens.

Has a tree issue on your property ever happened at the worst possible time, like the middle of the night or a holiday weekend?

If leaves on a tree look like they're covered in black soot, and the car parked underneath keeps needing an extra wash, the culprit is almost always aphids or scale insects working overtime this time of year.

Aphids and scale feed on tree sap and excrete a sugary substance called honeydew, and a black fungus called sooty mold grows on that residue. It coats leaves, branches, patio furniture, and anything parked below, and in heavy infestations it can block enough sunlight to weaken the tree over time.

The mold itself doesn't attack the tree directly, but it's a visible signal that an insect population has built up enough to need attention. Treating the aphids or scale is the actual fix, and the mold clears up once the sap-feeding insects are under control.

Have you noticed a sticky residue or black coating on leaves, your patio, or a car parked under a tree this summer?

Excellent service! I had several trees limbed up in my back and front yard. The crew worked quickly and carefully. Debris was removed the next day by a secondary crew. Will call again should I need their services again!