Tree care professionals, known as arborists, are highly trained and knowledgeable about tree care and pruning. An arborist must be certified through one or more international, national or local organizations. An arborist usually focuses on caring for individual trees, often on private properties. Arborists can be divided into two broad categories: practicing arborists and consulting arborists.
A practicing arborist, also known as a commercial arborist, is the type of tree care provider that many people first think of when they hear the word arborist. A practicing arborist can offer tree care services such as pruning, planting, removal, pesticide application, and fertilization. An arborist and a tree surgeon are often used interchangeably. When you hear the word “arborist” for the first time, you will wonder what it really means, what is his specific job and if he has anything to do in medicine; it sounds more like a biologist or botanist.
On the other hand, when a “tree surgeon” is mentioned, it seems more confusing if you point out that a drug uses the word “surgeon”. A tree surgeon has a lot to do to care for trees and plants. Ideally, both arborists and tree surgeons could echo the same definition, since both could refer to the science of tree care. It's worth noting that the terms arborist and tree expert are not always regulated at the state or municipal level and, in New Jersey, anyone who chooses to work with trees can currently call themselves an arborist or tree expert and advertise their company as XYZ Tree Expert Company.
