Waller Tree Care

Mike Waller and his associate pruned my magnolia. My best analogy is «when you get a haircut that doesn’t look like a haircut, it’s a GREAT job.» My tree looks beautiful, and in no way «hacked.»
Mike trimmed a neighbor’s tree last year, and based on the expert job he did for her, I didn’t shop around. He is reliable, super quick, skilled, and he even cleaned up afterwards, leaving no debris behind. HIGHLY recommended!

After reading the reviews, I was about to schedule an appointment. However, I read a review further and noticed that the owner was taking his CSLB exam in 2009. I also read another review where they questioned his license status. I called and they still have not obtained their license. They may be insured and bonded but they are not licensed to perform services for over $ 500. Also, do they have w/​c insurance to cover their employees. They only beef I have with the lack of license is the unfair advantage they have over legitimate businesses who have a license and play by the rules. Please get your license!
If they obtain their license I may schedule an appointment for future jobs.

Mike and Jose are the bomb! I had Mike come to do an estimate on the many crazy trees, fruit trees, neighbors bamboo etc. growing in our yard and was pleasantly surprised by how low his quote was. The week of the scheduled work it was extremely stormy — I was honestly expecting to have to reschedule and would have been fine with that considering the weather. They still showed, as promised, and worked 10 hours, in the rain, to get the job done! They were both really nice and extremely hard workers. The yard looks great, I can’t wait to see it bloom in the spring. I highly recommend them.

This review is only for the bid process, as we ended up going with another tree service.
Based on the great Unilocal reviews, gave Waller a call to see about getting stump grinding and a tree removed. Mike came out to see the property to give us a quote. He is a friendly guy, and also looked over the rest of the property to see if there was anything else that might need attention. Unfortunately, Mike’s quote was significantly higher than the other tree services, so we didn’t select him. A good chunk of the cost was due to the distance, which is understandable but it probably would have been better to know that in advance so it would have saved Mike the trip up to our property. One other thing was that because Mike had been so busy throughout the day working other jobs, he actually did not have any paperwork for a quote ready for us. This meant we didn’t have a quote in writing, although in the end it didn’t make a difference.
The others I contacted included Banning Tree Service, Mitchell Tree Service, Davey Tree, and Peninsula Tree Care.

Mike is knowledgeable about tree care and very conscientious about completing the contracted job. Considering the time it took to do the work, his price was very reasonable. He cleaned up the work area better than we expected after the tree and stump removal was done. 5 stars!

I called «Waller Tree Care» last year to have a couple of trees trimmed. My first question for him was if he is a licensed contractor. He is not. So I decided to wait a while and think about if this was really an important issue for me. I figured it’s only a couple of trees so Mike came out and gave me an estimate, it was a small job about $ 400. I asked if he could do better on the price and he did, somewhere around $ 300. Long story short, Mike had forgotten some of the things we spoke about when he came for the initial estimate. So as a result he had to make a second trip back to correct some trimming we had discussed. Not the best experience. In retrospect it is important that you know that an unlicensed contractor cannot bid a job for more than $ 400 so beware of any estimate over this amount. Also consider that Mike is a one man show working on your property, scaling trees with no contractors license… I would be concerned with insurance coverage should he fall out of one of your trees on your property. Always make sure anyone who works on your property has valid insurance. You can contact the California Contractors License Board to verify any licenses at
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Mike trimmed/​cut an apple tree in our backyard last September that was in desperate need of help. He seemed very knowledgeable and even did some extra research on apple trees to make sure it was done properly. Mike was very professional, showed up on time, cleaned up after he was done, and was very reasonably priced. The tree has now bloomed for spring and looks great. We will use Mike again for our tree trimming needs.

Mike continues to provide superb service. His landscaping skills are excellent. Last year he pruned my cherry and lemon trees and told me that they would produce in large numbers now. Both trees provided more fruit than i have ever had in the past 10 years. This year he is replacing shrubs that died, moving shrubs that are in the wrong place and generally trimming my oak trees, birch trees and flowering cherry trees. It is always a pleasure to work with him and I appreciate the fact that he shares his ideas with me regarding as to what season we should be trimming what tree/​shrubs rather than just doing everything at one time. My trees and shrubs appreciate it and so do I.

Mike and his helper (I wish I knew his name — he was a really nice guy too) trimmed three trees for us. He arrived for the estimate on a weekend (a Sunday no less) and had a well rounded knowledge of the trees — not just knowing what to trim, but knowing when to stop (avoiding damage to the tree’s health) We had a mulberry that hadn’t been trimmed in at least seven years, so it was quite a job for them. They arrived on time, were super super nice and did a fantastic job trimming the trees and it was spotless when they were done. It looks great now. It totally exceeded our expectations.

Had Mike deal with my overgrown trees (several birches in the front of my house and backyard; huge oak tree and some smaller redwoods in the back; a humongous cork tree and a group of redwoods in the side yard). He tackled the job in 4 days — a big job for 2 guys (Mike and his trusty sidekick, Jose). I even had him take a look at my meyer lemon tree which I just had planted back in February. It wasn’t looking too good. Mike assessed that there was no saving the little guy as it was infested with scales. He offered to pull it out and take it away.
Mike and Jose arrived bright and early all 4 days and got straight to it. They were professional and courteous and checked in with me regularly to ask me if I was satisfied with things so far. Mike even gave me a ring while I was out to let me know that he just saw a lady walk out of the house with my infant son (which was totally okay, by the way, since the lady was my nanny). It was nice to know he had an eye on things while I was gone. If you’ve got trees that need attention, Mike’s your man for the job.

Mike from Waller Tree Care (and his helper Jose) were great — such a relief to get good tree/​landscaping service after several overpriced quotes and bad experiences.
Mike was on time both for his estimate meeting and for the tree service itself. The palm tree went from having a lot of dead branches underneath and looking really unkempt to looking beautiful and well-​pruned.
There had been some hornets nesting in the pineapple underneath the fronds of our pam tree and an exterminator had had to hack away at it. Mike fixed it so that it looked presentable again.
Not only did he do all of the work on the tree, he was also able to take on a last minute job to clean up and take away some tree/​hedge trimming left behing by another contractor.
Mike and Jose were really the answer to our prayers in terms of making our property look nice for an upcoming party.
We would definitely recommend them and would use them again in the future.
Mike is very friendly and professional — great to work with. And even better his prices are reasonable. You can tell he knows what he is doing and really appreciates the business.
E

I have to add to the rave reviews as well… I don’t think it could get better. Mike did an excellent job on the trees in our backyard; he kept good contact/​communication, good price, very professional, and good work! Unfortunately I wasn’t able to be on site when the work was completed and there was one small detail that was missed. Mike came back within a day to make sure that everything was exactly as I wanted it. I wouldn’t call anyone else for your tree care needs, highly recommended! Thanks Mike

We needed someone to take out a dead tree and a hedge and trim a couple trees.
Mike came out the day we called and gave us a very reasonable estimate and a discount for mentioning Unilocal!He said he could do the work the following Thursday.
On the day he promised, he showed up on time and made quick work of the trees and stumps. He cleaned up completely — not even any leaves in the pool!
Mike and his crew were friendly, thorough, and efficient. I don’t know what more I could ask for.

Hire Waller Tree Care.
As a new homeowner, we were overwhelmed with yard tasks but knew that we needed to have a tree removed from our backyard and one on the side yard trimmed away from the roofline. Where to go for help? Unilocal!
We saw the reviews and thought we’d give Mike a chance. He arrived to do an estimate and was extremely knowledgeable. Since we know nothing about trees, Mike probably could have taken complete advantage of us. He gave us an estimate and we scheduled the tree removal.
On the day of the removal, Mike and his helper arrived at the appointed time and began taking down a large Sycamore. It was quite fun to watch him climb the tree, attach safety ropes and systematically remove branch after branch. While he was cutting the tree, his helper was loading the truck with all the limbs. Mike took the stump all the way down to ground level.
He then tackled the pruning of a large Ash that was hanging over the house. He removed the material over the house, thinned and topped the tree to a much more manageable height.
It took Mike about 5 hours from start to finish. They clean up their mess and were very careful to avoid damage to our and our neighbor’s yard. He was careful to avoid damage to the roof and rain gutters. Mike was extremely pleasant to work with and his price was incredibly reasonable. We wish we had more trees to trim!
I do know that when it is time to have the other trees in our yard done, we will be calling on Waller Tree Care.

Mike, the owner of Waller Tree Care, is amazing. A tree limb fell on our roof late on a Friday and we called him at 10 PM to come out and remove it. Wow! — talk about emergency 24 hour service. Mike said that he would be at our house in 1.5 hours — he actually came in 1 hour (30 minutes ahead of schedule). He was courteous and extremely professional. He climbed up the tree, used ropes to secure the giant branch, and then got it down off our roof without damaging anything. It was amazing. I couldn’t believe he did this single handedly and so smoothly.
Mike’s expertise, professionalism, and honest approach to his work is really refreshing. I would recommend him to anyone without any reservations.

I wish that all contractors could be like this! We had lagged on finding someone to take care of trimming our overgrowth of trees in our backyard. As a result, I am glad that fellow Unilocalers were able to point us in the right direction.
Mike was so professional from start to finish. We were able to set-​up an appointment with him for a free quote. He didn’t try to up sell us on anything, and kept everything really simple to what we really wanted done. His prices were really reasonable and you can’t beat the customer service. His availability was pretty flexible and was able to schedule his services right away.
THE TREE SERVICE: He showed up on time. Did what we wanted to have done from trimming to removing a tree. There was one tree that we needed to had trimmed since it was overgrowing into our neighbor’s side. We really didn’t want to cut it so that it looked like someone sliced it in half. Mike knew how to take care of it and you can’t even noticed that the tree had a trim. Problem solve. Cleaned up everything and even hauled the trimmings away in his truck. Not too many tree trimmers do that. He did a great job and really liked his work and customer service.
TIP: Mention that you found him on Unilocal and he will give you a discount!

Michael and his crew did a fantastic job pruning our massive pine tree. He is trully a professional — from returning my initial call the same day to coming out and giving us a reasonable estimate ro completing the job as predicted. I think he really likes trees and more importantly he demonstrated knowledge about them. He and his crewed were here the entire day. They worked quickly and surprisingly quietly. And they cleaned everything up. Our neighbor and we split the cost. Our neighbor was impressed too. I would not hesitate recommending him. Well done.

Looking at reviews on Unilocal,I was pleased to see that tree care businesses were included, though not many reviews were here at that time. Since then, several more reviews for Mike have sprouted up, and with good cause.
I gave Mike a call and had him come out to do an estimate. We did a walk-​thru of the property, going over what work I wanted done, and Mike making notes. Then he made a second pass, writing up an estimate, and had it ready about 20 minutes later.
Mike was professional, courteous, and friendly. The estimate was clear, and the pricing was more than reasonable for the work being done. While a lot of people are good at what they do, but terrible at the business side of things, Mike handles the business side without that «used car guy» feel.
If you’re looking for an estimate on tree trimming or removal, especially if you’re worried about paying an arm and a leg, give Mike a call.

In one word, EXCELLENT!
I had a palm tree (
) removed by Waller Tree Care. It took 1.5 days, and they did a clean job. Clean in terms of getting rid of the tree and debris, putting dirt back in the crater, and keeping my living room clean by laying down plywood and tarp before the dirty job started.
It was a big fat palm tree in a tight backyard of my townhouse. The only access was thru the 4-​ft wide patio door. It was like taking an engine apart thru the exhaust pipe.
I called a few numbers off Craigslist and Unilocal.Mike Waller, the owner of Waller Tree Care, sounded the most knowledgeable and experienced. Mike showed up on time for the estimate, told me in detailed steps about his plans to get the tree out, estimated 1 days of work, and we both signed a contract for him and his crew to start the work. The price was very reasonable.
My roommate watched over their work, and it was remarkable. The guys worked hard, and they communicated very well when they had a question such as «it’s gonna damage this plant next to the tree. Do you want us to dig it up and replant it, or just let it be». It took them 1.5 days to finish everything, and drag equipment and debris in/​out thru the living room, which was left as clean as when they found it. They also left all other plants in the yard intact. And they charged as estimated, no extra charge for the extra half day of work.
So, two thumbs up for Mike Tree Care!

This past summer, I needed to have my parent’s huge Oak trees trimmed back. They were overgrown and looked very dangerously HEAVY hanging over their home.
I found this company through Craigslist and Mike, the owner came out for a free estimate. He was prompt, professional, and very tree knowledgeable! Right away, I knew he was the man to do this job!
I had to get our neighbors to pay for their half (separate contracts). That ended up being a great deal, because it was primarily their tree that had grown to this beast.
Mike and his team completed the entire job in 1 day. They removed approx 1500 lbs of branches, limbs, dead stumps, and more!!! It was great to watch because Mike actually climbs up into the trees (Oak Tree Heights man!) and handles it! We were all very pleased by his work and would like to refer his services to anyone who has crazy overgrown trees that need a good trimming or removal!