A landscaping arborist checks the trees on your customers' properties, prunes them, and plans treatment for pests and disease. At a residential company they also meet homeowners, explain what a tree needs and what it costs, and sell tree work to lawn and garden customers you already serve.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Serve as a skilled Arborist specializing in tree care and landscaping services. Deliver expert pruning, disease management, and overall tree health assessments for residential and commercial properties. Contribute to enhanced curb appeal and sustainable landscape designs that align with our commitment to quality home services.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Conduct comprehensive tree assessments to determine health, pruning needs, and potential hazards.
Perform precise tree pruning, trimming, and maintenance to encourage growth and mitigate disease spread.
Develop and execute disease management plans using industry-standard practices and safe treatment methods.
Collaborate with team members to design and implement sustainable landscaping solutions that meet client requirements.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Inspect client properties for tree health, safety concerns, and landscape aesthetics.
Provide on-site consultations and expert recommendations for tree care and maintenance.
Operate and maintain specialized equipment safely and efficiently during daily assignments.
Document and report service outcomes to ensure high-quality, consistent customer experiences.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Customer Satisfaction Rating: >4.8 stars.
Callback Rate: <5%.
Revenue per Service Call: $150.
Project Completion Rate: ≥95% on time.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Proven knowledge of arboriculture practices and tree care protocols.
Certification in arboriculture or related field (e.g., ISA Certified Arborist) preferred.
Minimum of 2 years’ experience in tree care, pruning, or landscaping roles.
Strong customer service, communication, and problem-solving skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience working in a residential and/or commercial landscaping environment.
Familiarity with integrated pest and disease management strategies.
Demonstrated ability to collaborate within team environments in the home services industry.
Previous involvement in client relationship management for landscape maintenance projects.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift and maneuver equipment up to 50 pounds.
Frequent outdoor work in varying weather conditions including heat, cold, and rain.
Regularly required to climb ladders and work at heights safely.
Endurance to perform physically demanding tasks throughout the workday.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard work hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
Occasional weekend or evening calls based on client needs and seasonal demand.
Travel required to various job sites within the designated service area.
On-call duties may be expected during peak service periods.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $50,000 - $70,000 per year based on experience.
Potential for performance-based bonuses and commission incentives.
Comprehensive healthcare benefits including Health, Dental, and Vision insurance.
401(k) plan with company matching and additional fringe benefits available.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a forward-thinking company committed to excellence and constant growth.
We foster an environment where every team member is empowered to innovate and elevate their career.
Our culture emphasizes collaboration, continuous learning, and a passion for sustainable home services.
Join us to be part of a supportive team that values integrity, quality, and customer satisfaction.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
What makes an arborist's job different at a landscaping company
A tree service does nothing but trees. In a lawn and garden company, the arborist is often the only tree expert on staff. They diagnose, sell and prune for customers who first signed up for mowing and bed care.
Some states license tree work for hire
In Connecticut, anyone who advertises or contracts to prune, feed or treat trees for pay needs a state arborist license. The business has to register too. The license covers pest and disease treatments on trees only. Spraying turf or shrubs takes a separate pesticide certification, which matters at a company that does both. Other states set their own rules. Source: Connecticut DEEP: Commercial arborist license.
Certification takes years of tree work
ISA Certified Arborist is a private credential, not a state license. To take the exam, a candidate needs three years of full-time tree work. A related degree or training program can stand in for one or two of those years. Certification lasts three years. To keep it, holders earn at least 30 continuing education units in that time or pass the exam again. Source: ISA: Certified Arborist program guide (eligibility and recertification).
Power lines set a hard limit
OSHA's landscaping guidance sets a 10-foot minimum clearance from overhead power lines, and more on lines above 50 kV. Only workers trained and qualified for line-clearance work may get closer, under a separate OSHA standard. A residential arborist should spot these trees on the first visit and call the utility rather than send a climber up. Source: OSHA: Landscaping and horticultural services, hazards and solutions.
OSHA's rules, plus an industry standard
OSHA tells tree care companies to follow its general industry standards. Those cover things like ladders, fall protection, aerial lifts and protective gear. The detailed field guide is ANSI Z133, a voluntary industry safety standard for tree work. OSHA warns that meeting an ANSI standard doesn't by itself mean you meet OSHA's rules, so train to both. Source: OSHA: Tree care standards.
Timing can matter as much as the cut
Some tree work has to wait for the right season. In Minnesota, the state university's extension service says not to prune oaks from April to October, because fresh cuts draw the beetles that spread oak wilt. Your arborist should know the local pests and tree diseases, and book pruning and treatments so the crew calendar fits around them. Source: University of Minnesota Extension: Pruning trees and shrubs.
How much landscaping arborists make
The closest BLS group for landscaping arborists is tree trimmers and pruners. Tree trimmers and pruners who work for landscaping companies earned a median of $24.30 an hour ($50,530 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $50,960 median for tree trimmers and pruners in all industries. About 49,410 of the 55,160 tree trimmers and pruners in that survey work for landscaping companies.
Salaried in the template, with room for bonuses and commission on the tree work they sell. If your arborist also climbs and cuts, check the federal duties tests before you treat the salary as exempt from overtime.
Landscaping companies
$50,530$50,530 median Middle half $44,610–$62,940 10th–90th $37,940–$79,100
All industries
$50,960$50,960 median Middle half $44,840–$63,900 10th–90th $37,940–$80,310
$30k$40k$50k$60k$70k$80k$90k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Landscaping companies
$37,940
$44,610
$50,530
$62,940
$79,100
All industries
$37,940
$44,840
$50,960
$63,900
$80,310
BLS reports residential and commercial landscaping companies together. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Knows the common trees in your area and the pests and diseases that hit them
Makes proper pruning cuts and can tell when a tree should come down instead
Explains what's wrong with a tree, and the choices, so a homeowner understands
Writes clear estimates and follows up on them
Follows climbing, rigging and chainsaw safety steps every time
Teach these on the job
Your estimating software and price book
Your treatment programs and the products your company is licensed to apply
How sold tree work gets handed to crews and the schedule
Account history on the properties they'll visit
Tree risk assessment, through ISA's TRAQ course if they qualify
Arborists carry hand saws, pole pruners, binoculars and a sounding mallet for checking trees, plus climbing gear and chainsaws if they also do the cutting. Tree work is often estimated in software built for it, such as SingleOps, ArboStar or Arborgold, or in the system the rest of your company uses. Your ad should say if the arborist mainly diagnoses and sells, or also climbs and cuts.
Landscaping arborist interview questions
They have their own page: 6 questions that test this job, what strong and weak answers sound like, and a work exercise to run with your finalists.
Treat the numbers in the template as a first draft. After a season of tree jobs, reset them from your own results, and track work sold apart from work finished.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Homeowner ratings and reviews after a consult or a tree job, tied to the arborist in your software. Read the comments for how well they explained the work.
Callback Rate
Finished tree jobs that brought a return call about the same tree, such as a missed limb, a rough cut or debris left behind, out of all tree jobs. Log each callback with its cause.
Revenue per Service Call
Total tree work sold, divided by the consults and service visits the arborist ran that month. Watch it beside the satisfaction score so selling never outruns honest advice.
Project Completion Rate
Tree jobs done on or before the day you told the customer, divided by all tree jobs on the schedule. Flag weather and permit holdups so they don't hide scheduling misses.
What does an arborist do for a landscaping company?
They handle the trees on properties your crews already maintain, plus tree calls from new customers. A typical week mixes consults with homeowners, written estimates, pruning, treatment plans for pests and disease, and checks after storms. Many also teach crew members safe pruning of shrubs and small trees, and flag trees that need a closer look.
How much does a landscaping arborist make?
Tree trimmers and pruners who work for landscaping companies earned a median of $24.30 an hour ($50,530 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $44,610 and $62,940 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Does an arborist need a license?
That's up to each state. Maryland says only licensed tree experts may lawfully do paid tree trimming and removal, and tells homeowners to check that a company has one on staff. Tree experts there must post their license number on their vehicles. Connecticut licenses anyone who advertises or contracts to do tree work for hire. Pesticide use is licensed in most states too, according to BLS. So an arborist who treats trees for insects or disease may need that license even where there's no tree license.
Should I require ISA certification?
List it as preferred, as the template does, unless you market your company on certified arborists. Then check the math. ISA requires three years of full-time tree work, or schooling plus time in the field, before the exam. A candidate with the template's two-year minimum and no schooling can't be certified yet, so raise the experience line or plan to pay for the exam later.
What is the difference between an arborist and a tree trimmer?
A tree trimmer climbs and cuts. An arborist also judges a tree's health and risk, chooses which cuts to make, and plans treatment. BLS counts both in one group, tree trimmers and pruners. BLS ranks that group's injury and illness rate among the highest of all jobs. At a landscaping company, the arborist often runs the consult while a trimmer does the climbing.
What is TRAQ, and does an arborist need it?
TRAQ is ISA's Tree Risk Assessment Qualification. It's voluntary. Candidates need an existing credential, such as ISA Certified Arborist, or a related degree. They take a two-day course, then pass a written exam and a hands-on exam. They retrain and retest every seven years. It's worth having if your arborist will tell homeowners whether a big tree near the house is safe to keep.
