The Tree Specialist

I cannot recommend The Tree Specialist highly enough. We hired them to prune 6 of the trees in our yard (which are all different types). Don gave us an idea of how he would approach each tree, and his crew did an absolutely amazing job. Our trees have never looked better! There is one tree in particular that we had pruned a number of years ago, and when they finished it looked like a smaller version of itself. When Don & his crew finished, it looked like a *better* version of itself; we have never seen it look as good as it does now! Many thanks to The Tree Specialist!

We are glad we found the Tree Specialist in Home Advisors web site. Our lasting impressions with Don Araki and his team after hiring them to cut and stem-​grinded over twelve dead/​dangerous Elm and Cedar trees from our house are:
* Don’s dedication to customer’s needs and his in-​depth knowledge about trees and landscaping
* Tony — the foreman — is very helpful and courteous. His experience and leadership helped mitigating a minor conflict with a neighbor while we were not home resulted in such a good way that we now win a new friendly neighbor
* The crew’s excellent performance: they worked together in harmony, fast and safely
* The modern, well-​maintained, hi-​tech, heavy-​duty Vermeer equipments they used at out site
* Fair, competitive price and friendly service
We have recommended the Tree Specialist service to our daughter in Los Altos, to our friend in Palo Alto, and to our neighbors in Atherton. Wished we could give out 10 stars in Unilocal for the Tree Specialist. Highly recommended to the public without any reservation!

We recently bought a house with a yard… yay! But my husband and I know next to nothing about caring for trees since we had always lived in apartments or condos before, and we have 15 trees on our new property. We were specifically concerned about the large olive tree in very very close proximity to our house. I called The Tree Specialist early one morning to ask about booking a consultation, and Don was able to come out and see us the same day. He was incredibly knowledgeable about trees and other aspects of home care, maintenance and landscaping, and really took his time answering all our questions and making helpful suggestions. I feel much more confident in our ability to care for our trees and prevent any future issues… and I learned we have 3 more fruit trees than we thought we did! His quote for tree removal and trimming was very reasonable based on what i have heard from others, and we are looking forward to working with him.

I called Don on Friday night for some urgent work over the weekend. He went above and beyond service and did a great job right on time. I highly recommend The Tree Specialist guys and would call them for all my other arborist projects.

I’ve been meaning to write this review for months, but kept forgetting. We had Don Araki, the owner of The Tree Specialist take down three very tall pine trees back in December, just before the big storm hit here. In total we interviewed seven different arborist/​tree cutters before we settled on Don, and did so because he was professional, personable, and really knew what he was talking about. In fact, he knew more about trees, disease (including Sudden Oak Death) and other maladies than anyone I’ve ever spoken with, and I lived on 13 acres up in the mountains for 20 years, and had many tree cutters over that time.
I was not disappointed. His crew was exceptional. They were professional, quick, thorough and considerate. Not only did they take down those trees in a confined space, the house next door had just been remodeled, so they had to make sure that nothing hit the house. After taking down the trees they then went and trimmed the huge Maple I have hanging over my office as well. Then when they were done they not only cleaned up everything, they cleaned up the neighbor’s yard, including blowing off all the sawdust and all of the pine needles that my dead trees had dropped.
When the storm hit the next day, starting with an amazing amount of wind, I didn’t have anything drop off the Maple into my yard.
I almost wish I had a bunch of dead trees just to get these guys back. OK. I’m kidding on that last part, but if I had a need I would call Don in a heart beat. The whole thing was as great an experience as you can get considering nobody every wants to drop a mature tree.

My neighbors used these guys. Someone from the team used my yard for a toilet. I was not impressed. I’ll call someone more professional when I need my trees trimmed.

Let me first say that I have not worked with many tree services in the past, but I just have to say how impressed I was with the level of services offered by Tree Specilists, Inc. of San Jose and from Francisco Cardenas.
We will shortly be renewing the Landscape at the Alura Inn in San Jose and needed some big tree work done first. The trees had perhaps never seen a service and were wildly overgrown and unkept-​and big! Francisco came out to the appointment (ahead of time) and we met and discussed the issues at hand-​he was very pleasant and really grasped what we were trying to do to give the Alura Inn a nice facelift. He seemed confidant and very knowlegable-​got back to us with a proposal within 1 day and was able to schedule the project within one week… everything that we had hoped for. The price was very reasonable and the job was completed yestereday-​I ‘ve just got to say what a great job he and his crew did for the Hotel-​it now can be landscaped as has been envisioned. They even went above and beyond by pointing out some additional issues with the property and taking care of them straight away. The trees look wonderful and this tree company has my strongest recomendations! Look no further if you want a reasonable price, licensed and insured, fast service and the highest quality work-​nice going guys!

I found this company in a Diamond Review book sent to my home. I called Don Araki, the owner, and a certified arborist. He drove to my home in San Mateo to look over the work to be done. He spent extra time letting me know what he would do and his approach to the work — making sure any trimming would be done so that the trees would grow and not be ‘hacked’. He gave a very fair price and then exceeded all expectations when his crew arrived to do the work. He is now my go-​to guy for all significant landscaping work on my property. Absolutely think he’s the best around.

I’ve had 3 experiences with The Tree Specialist and they’ve exceeded my expectations every time. The first was an impromptu call for help on my side to remove trimmings left behind by a company that did unauthorized work at my mom’s. Victor got someone out immediately and charged a nominal amount to remove the cuttings.
As I witnessed my mom’s place transforming into a veritable jungle, I realized it was time to get someone in to do some serious pruning — someone I could *trust.* So I called Victor who scheduled an estimate and spent at least an hour with my mom and I, discussing what I thought needed to be done and offering some suggestions that he had. He provided an estimate on the spot — quite reasonable. So I engaged them to do the work.
Today, the crew came and spent the day pruning 4 olives, 2 junipers and 2 pepper trees. In addition, they did a bit of weed whacking along the driveway, removed 2 dead trees, distributed mulch, and removed 4 very large, bushlike weeds in the front. They pruned artistically, especially with the olives.
Mom and I are so pleased with their work, their ethic, and the value for the money. Victor has delivered on all fronts. He’s always reachable, goes over and above, and is a complete gentleman to boot. Also, the crew was amazing. Couldn’t be happier!

I called this place, which is located in San Jose, to ask about getting a free estimate to cut down a tree in my backyard. The guy who answered said it would be expensive to get a truck out my way, which is in south San Jose. Really? Too bad for them. I guess they don’t want my business, or my money.

We engaged Tree Specialist to trip some trees, remove others, and chip their trimmings as well as piles of brush we had created by our own efforts. The Tree Specialist crew showed up on time and worked diligently until all of the work was completed. They did more than we asked them to do and did a great job. They did a great job of cleaning up. In short, we got more than we bargained for and were very happy with the service and the price was fair.