GreenTree Arborists and Garden Design

Was tempted to use this company, but thankfully checked Unilocal first. From what I could find out via the internet, Gary Walker is NOT an ISA Certified Arborist. They do not list him on their website. He DOES appear to have a contractor’s license that is current, but the license does not include any employees. Not sure who is going to do all the work, is it just Gary Walker?
Was talking to my neighbor about this and he said that Gary was going through our neighborhood giving suggestions and estimates, citing his ISA certification. Haven’t checked my security system to see if he was at my house, but I make a point of NEVER HIRING COMPANIES WHO GO DOOR TO DOOR. Seriously… if you are so good, why are you knocking on people’s doors?

WARNING, WARNING, WARNING!!!
1. Gary Walker is NOT a certified arborist according to the ISA (International Society of Arboriculture) website.
2. According to the California Contractor’s License Board’s website, the contractor’s license for GreenTree Arborists has been EXPIRED since 8÷31÷2014.

DO NOT HIRE Gary Walker! We had him come to give us an estimate on a tree. He kept talking and did not listen to anything we said. We paid him $ 145.00 for his useless evaluation. He then proceeded to treat the tree without permission and then expected immediate payment for doing so. When it was not given he became nasty and upset even to the point of questioning our integrity!

I wish I had checked Unilocal first. DO NOT hire this guy. I checked to see if he is a certified arborist, the web sites I checks says he is NOT CERTIFIED!!!
He removed two pine trees from my neighbors and came over to talk to my wife and offered to lace our pepper tree for a discount since he had there in the area.
He gave her a story about how great the wood from our neighbors tre would be for fire wood (pine is the worst)
When I got home he was not there but his helper was still cleaning up, there was still lots of dead wood in the pepper tree. When he showed up he started in about how great (talks never listens) I stated there were a few dead limbs left and he went off on how nobody ever questions his work.
He did remove some of it, then the fire works started when I told him I didn’t the pine stumps he left in my drive way. He finally removed them after me getting nasty then dumped them in another neighbors drive way.

This man sells himself well, but the more you talk to him the more you realize is is a con artist who prays on people. He says he knows how to accomplish a task and states a certain amount for the bid and then never has you sign a contract, so he can take you to small claims court. Yup he is allowed to take two victims to court per year. He will threaten you with court in person and by hate e-​mails. He goes from talking to yelling at you in person and on the phone in seconds… what a megalomaniac. BEWARE! His lies could include that he had his own talk show… lie…he knows all about sprinkler systems… lie, and he has a team that has worked with him for years… LIE!!!

DO NOT HIRE THIS PERSON!!!
Unbelievable. How this guy is still in business is beyond me. Simple job. Cut down some trees and thin out some others. he ended up cutting down two adult Hollywood Junipers (30 years old) that were only supposed to be thinned. He then convinced my wife that $ 50 worth of flowers in replacement were sufficient. The trees were worth more than $ 5K.
I talked to him the would not even listen. It was his mistake and he refused to rectify it. Tried to blame my wife!
DO NOT USE THIS PERSON. They are sloppy and take no responsibility for their mistakes. He was rude as well.
I guess it goes to the lawyers now.
HORRIBLE!

We were delighted with the job that Gary Walker did in planning and carrying out a landscaping job on our front and backyards. The result was excellent. He spent time discussing and analyzing with us our goals in the design, and brought extensive knowledge concerning what would be a good idea to plant where to make our outdoor living areas more vibrant and visually pleasing, while ultimately reducing our water bills. Once we settled on a design, Gary set to work with his team, quickly and efficiently executing the design. He also provided information about how to maintain the new yards. We would not hesitate to hire him again and recommend him to anyone who desires a knowledgeable, highly intelligent person to help with a landscaping job.

I wish I could give zero Stars.
I have hired Green Tree to cut down trees and haul away/​destroy and bunch of limbs I cut. I also had them cut some palms. It all started fine with Gary the owner coming to my house on Tuesday to cut the trees. The rain started and he said he would be back tomorrow in the AM. He never called me, I had to call him to get a time setup. He said late morning, which was more like 3:30pm. This was fine but I knew he would not finish the work as he said «in 1 day». Gary and his crew cut and hauled a good amount onto my front lawn. At about 4:45 Gary asked if he could talk to my neighbors about a dead tree and I told him they are never home to leave a card. I saw my neighbor come out of her house looking upset that she was bothered. Gary then went to ANOTHER neighbors home looking for work. Not too big of deal but kinda not ok. He then disappeared and left 2 guys at my house to «finish» up. They spoke no English and had no idea what they were doing still at my house. He said he would be coming back, he never came back. I left a message on his phone to find out when he was coming back the following day. I had to call Gary AGAIN this morning to get him to tell me when he was coming back. He called and said noon. 1 minute later he called back and told me his «partner» (I never saw or heard of any partner) said we were doing «you» meaning me the customer a big favor and they would like me to chip in another $ 100. This would bring my bill to $ 1550 not $ 1450 like we signed and shook on. Gary or instead his team of guys got rid of all of the tree stuff. They also destroyed my front lawn with a truck and chopper they drove on it. They also left HUGE piles of pine needles all over my back lawn. There are branches all over that were supposed to be picked up. They also destroyed the asphalt liner on my driveway. When I pointed out my findings Gary became very hostile and said «you dont live in a house in Rancho Santa Fe, what do you expect?» I paid Gary the settled on amount and he left.
This guy paid day laborers to do his job and had the balls to ask for more money for them? He wanted it for him self. I would NEVER EVER use this guy or his service.
UPDATE:
After working with the California State License Board, Green Tree is only insured to have 1 employee. There is no other insurance for the «team», just Mr. Walker. I would have never let guys climb 20 foot palm trees, chain saws, wood chipper or on my property period if I had known this. Also I was sent a very inappropriate/​hostile/​false email after I had come forward about this info. I just want other to know my story and be left alone.

My wife and I have turned to Gary twice now. We have three acres in Bonsall, and have lots of trees. Gary has taken care of several large eucalyptus trees, a bunch (upwards of 20) of California pepper trees, several stands of old, tall oleander, a huge pine tree, and several palm trees (including removing one we hated). Gary and his crew did great work, thinning the trees out in a way that looks natural — definitely NOT like someone just gave it a quick once-​over with a hedge trimmer or something. Gary also advised on care for a couple of trees we were concerned about, and gave us some good instructions for making our trees as healthy as possible. He even cut back our roses so they’re all set to grow like crazy in the spring.
We had him do a lot of work, so it wasn’t cheap, but we think it was a good investment. Gary is our go-​to guy for tree care, and we like the work he’s done for us.
He’s also a musician, and has put out a CD album. Pretty good stuff, actually!

Gary took care of trimming and fertilizing many of the trees on my 5 acre ranch in Valley Center last year. After that the lemon trees and guava trees that had never born fruit since I have lived here, produced a good crop of lemons and guava and my figs and persimmons came in great too. Gary was professional and did exactly what he said he would do. I was more than satisfied with his work.
Debi I

DO NOT hire Gary Walker! This man is the rudest person I have ever met. Also, he does shoddy work. We hired him for a fee of course to inventory and identify our many trees as well as advise us on how to care for them adequately. He arrived early for the appointment and got irritated and obnoxious when we didn’t come to the door immediately due to the fact that my husband was showering. He walked the yard, tossed out names of the trees here and there, was condescending answering our questions with a superior attitude. ‘Deep watering and fertilizer are what you need’ was his expert advice. He offered to trim and lace our trees for $ 1500.00. We agreed. When the job was completed we noticed a frond hanging that was not there before. I called him about it and he stated that it wasn’t due to his trimming and he was not obligated to remove it. Hellooo! — you just trimmed the Palms, Gary! After arguing profusely, he finally agreed to remove the dead, hanging frond, then acted like he did us a HUGE favor. He then expressed his anger saying I never thanked him. He had trimmed 2 large trees which were infected with tree termites– one fell 8 weeks after he trimmed it and the other had to be removed by another certified arborist due to the possibility of it falling over also. Who charges money to trim sick trees? We had to pay another crew to come in and clean up his mess! I would NEVER recommend this man — he is awful!!! When I asked him how he missed the fact that the 2 trees he charged us to lace and trim were severely diseased, he said ‘trees fall down’…
Why a complete nightmare!

One of the rudest people I’ve ever talked to in my life.

THIS GUY IS AN ASS! I talked to him the day before he was to come and give us an estimate on removing a large tree from our backyard. He got to my house asked my husband how long we have owned the home. We told him we rent the house and our landlord is paying for the tree removal as long as we get the estimates. He said he only works with homeowners and my husband told him he would call the landlord and have him give verbal approval on quoting the job. Again he glanced at the tree from our front yard and said no he wouldn’t even bid because we weren’t the homeowners. Way to lose a huge job. Don’t even waste your time calling this guy! There are plenty of other people who need the work and don’t care if you are the homeowner or not

So… a follow up… after posting MY personal experience, I rec’d a mean and hostile PERSONAL attack… I was commenting on MY experience with this company-​Gary Walker sent a response attacking ME! Please be advised that my interpretation of MY experience is just that!
Beware that if you post honest experiences– you too may be assaulted on line!

Notably good service experience While I did not use the service itself, I was highly impressed by the company’s professionalism and the quick response time.