What is an arborist consultation, and what does it include?

By Mikey Wilson, ISA Certified Arborist (#UT-4612A), 15+ years as an arborist · Published October 6, 2026 · 10 min read

An arborist consultation is a paid, on-site visit where I look at your trees up close, work out what is actually going on, and tell you your options before anyone picks up a saw. Here is what the visit looks like from the first conversation to the follow-up.

What an arborist consultation is

Think of it as a checkup with a doctor who only treats trees. It is not a bid for tree removal, and I'm not showing up with a crew and chainsaws. The goal is to diagnose first, so you know what is wrong before anyone decides what to do about it. For the short version of what I offer, see my consultation service page. This article goes deeper into how the visit actually runs.

I look at the whole tree: roots, trunk, branches, and leaves. Then I look at how the tree sits next to your house, your fence, and any power lines overhead.

Salt Lake County trees deal with a lot. Summers are hot and dry. Heavy, wet snow can snap limbs in a single night. And Utah's soil is a factor too: Utah State University Extension notes that alkaline soils are common in Utah, and in them the tree can't take up iron, which is why some species, including silver maples and pin oaks, turn yellow. A good consultation accounts for all of that, because generic advice doesn't cut it here.

The valley has seen what a bad day looks like. On September 8, 2020, a windstorm hit the Wasatch Front, and Salt Lake City reported that it lost about 1,500 of its nearly 85,000 public trees, with roughly 3,000 more damaged. That count covers public trees only. It's one reason I look hard at limb attachments, decay, and root health while a tree is still standing, not after the wind has tested it.

Here is a real example. A homeowner in Sugar House called me about a big cottonwood she wanted gone. She was sure it was dying and was expecting a removal quote. I walked the tree and found it was mostly sound. What it needed was deadwooding and some crown reduction, not a chainsaw at the base. She kept her shade, and her yard kept its best feature. That's the whole point of diagnosing first.

What happens during a visit, step by step

Most people picture someone glancing at a tree and giving a quick opinion. A real visit follows a process. It starts on the ground, moves up into the canopy, and ends with a plan you can act on.

1. I talk with you first. You tell me what you've noticed: dropping leaves, cracks, or a lean that seems new. Your timeline matters.
2. I check the site. That means soil, grade changes, nearby construction, where water drains, and how close the canopy runs to the roof and chimney.
3. I look at the root zone and trunk base. Fungus, girdling roots, and soil heaving show up here first.
4. I inspect the trunk and main limbs for cavities, cracks, and weak branch unions. Some trees need a closer look with a mallet or probe to check for hidden decay.
5. I read the canopy. Dieback, thin growth, and off-color leaves tell me a lot about the tree's health.
6. I look for signs of insects and disease. If I find them, I identify what is going on and connect you with an authorized specialist for treatment.
7. I walk you through what I found and what I would do next, in plain English.

That last step matters most. You shouldn't leave the visit guessing.

Not every yellow tree has a disease story. A maple with pale, small leaves often has a soil story behind it, which is why I pay close attention to iron chlorosis, drought stress, and compacted soil.

A client in the Avenues was sure her old elm was dying. The canopy looked thin, and she'd already collected one removal quote. But when I got in close, the trunk was solid and the roots were sound. The real problem was a few years of shallow watering plus some deadwood. I deadwooded the tree, set her up with a deeper watering plan, and that elm is still standing.

How to prepare for your visit

A little preparation makes the diagnosis faster and more accurate.

• Write down when you first noticed the problem. "Last summer" and "two weeks ago" point to very different causes.
• Take photos now. A phone photo of the canopy, the trunk, and anything odd gives me something to compare against.
• Gather the history. Past pruning, how and how often the tree is watered, sprinkler changes, and any digging, paving, or construction near the roots.
• Point out everything. Odd mushrooms at the base, sap running down the bark, a branch that creaks in the wind. Small details help me get the diagnosis right.
• Tell me why you're calling. A tree you're worried about, a home sale, an HOA or insurer request, and a permit question each call for a different focus.

One thing I see all the time: people wait until a limb drops before calling, and by then the options shrink fast. Catching a weak union or early decay gives you choices.

What you walk away with

• A clear read on your tree's health and structure
• Any safety concerns ranked by how urgent they are
• Care options, like crown reduction, cabling and bracing, or pruning
• A straight answer if removal is the right call
• A timeline, since some work is best done in the dormant season

Sometimes my best advice is to leave the tree alone and check it again next year.

If you want it on paper, I can put together a written report on request, including the photos and video from your visit. It's useful when the visit is for an HOA, an insurer, a permit, or a home sale. Ask about it when you book.

Consultation vs. free estimate

These are two different visits. A consultation is a paid, on-site diagnosis, because you're getting a trained read on what is wrong and what your options are. It's $50, or $100 if the visit runs longer than an hour, so you know the cost before I head out. If you hire me for the work, the consultation fee comes off the job. A free estimate is for when you already know the work you want done, such as a tree removal or trimming.

Book an Assessment or call (801) 809-2611, Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM.

Watch: what an arborist consultation includes

Prefer to watch? Open the video on YouTube.

Certified arborist vs. general tree service

Many tree companies are skilled and safe. The difference is where the visit starts. A general tree service is built around jobs: you point at a limb, they cut it. A certified arborist starts with diagnosis and looks at the whole tree before anyone touches it.

Ask for the ISA credential, by number. Any tree company that says it has a certified arborist should be able to give you the arborist's ISA certification number, and you can confirm it yourself in ISA's credential directory before anyone works on your property. Mine is #UT-4612A. I've been an arborist for more than 15 years, and I also hold ISA's Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ), the credential for formal tree risk assessments.

A trained eye earns its keep on the things a cutting crew can walk right past:

• Decay hiding inside the trunk or behind old pruning cuts
• Iron chlorosis, the yellowing common in Utah's alkaline soils
• Weak branch unions that cabling and bracing might hold together for years
• The gap between a tree that's truly risky and one that only looks scary

Any one of those can change the plan, sometimes from removal to keeping the tree. A Sugar House homeowner called me about a big Norway maple that another company had told her was dying and had to come down. The leaves were small and pale. Before anyone cut anything, I checked the soil and dug around the base. I found chlorosis, and a girdling root choking the trunk. I removed the root, and the next spring the tree leafed out full and green.

I see this mistake all the time. A tree gets topped or pulled because nobody asked why it was struggling. I could tell stories about topped trees on the East Bench all day.

Street trees in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City adds one more layer. Salt Lake City Urban Forestry requires a permit before removing, pruning, or planting any tree in the public right-of-way, and says it only issues permits to arborists certified by the International Society of Arboriculture. If you aren't sure whether a tree is in the right-of-way, Urban Forestry asks you to call them before doing any work.

So who should you call? If a tree is already lying across your driveway after a canyon wind, a good removal crew can handle it. If you don't know what's wrong, or you're wondering whether the tree can be saved, start with a diagnosis.