Tap Root Tree Specialists, LLC

Tap Root Tree Specialists, LLC We're a specialized tree service that's a member of the ISA with certified arborist Cameron Harris who is also tree risk assessment qualified.

We specialize in tree climbing, proper pruning techniques, tree preservation and risk mitigation. veteran/military/first responder/senior/first time customer/teacher/referral discounts!

You walk, drive, live near one every day without ever thinking about it, but that big ole tree nearby is one of the most...
06/14/2026

You walk, drive, live near one every day without ever thinking about it, but that big ole tree nearby is one of the most powerful living things in nature! Working for free in total silence, providing benefits for all of us!

A TREE IS A NATURAL AIR CONDITIONER!
On a hot day, it doesn't just provide shade, it
transpires, releasing water v***r that cools
the air around it. A large mature tree can move
up to 100 gallons of water a day, cooling like
several air conditioners running for hours
without a single watt of electricity.
Tree lined neighborhoods can be cooled by 10° or more compared to bare, paved, grassy ones. On a hot night, that can be the difference between sleep that drains you and sleep that restores you!

A TREE IS AN AIR FILTER!
Its leaves trap fine particles and absorb gaseous pollutants and it absorbs carbon 24/7. Roughly half the dry weight of a tree's wood is carbon pulled straight out of the air!

A TREE IS AN ENTIRE CITY!
A single old tree feeds and shelters hundreds of species! Everything from birds, bats, insects, fungi, lichens and everything else in between!
The dead and aging wood of old trees alone supports countless bugs, insects and animals, the recyclers of the forest.

A TREE IS A WATER PUMP!
Trees act as nature’s ultimate, zero-maintenance water pumps. Their canopies intercept heavy rain, their roots fracture and loosen compacted soil, and they quietly filter and guide millions of gallons of stormwater deep underground to recharge local aquifers! How neat is that!

HERE'S THE KEY:
A tree becomes even more beneficial by growing old. A 30-year-old tree does far more for us then we realize! By offering more cooling, more shelter, more water filtration, and more carbon absorption along with several more benefits compared to a freshly planted one, which is still better than no trees! The big older trees are the real workhorses, they've been through it all providing for us. So the most valuable thing we can do for trees is simply let them grow and do their thing!

Before you cut a big tree down, ask yourself about every beneficial thing it did for you and plant one for the future generations while we still can. Obviously mitigate risks to your property when needed but replace that tree with a new one!

Pruning for house clearance doesn't mean carelessly stub everything back from over hanging the roof. Doing that will cau...
05/08/2026

Pruning for house clearance doesn't mean carelessly stub everything back from over hanging the roof. Doing that will cause issues and trigger a sporadic growth response that will be significantly weaker and more problematic in the long run.

Pruning for house clearance means making proper reduction cuts to sustainable branches that will promote growth in a direction away from the subject. Making smaller cuts and reducing the end weight is far better for the long term and increases the time between having to trim your tree(s) again because these reduction cuts were cut to branches that are growing away from the subject. Which will allow the tree to compartmentalize smaller wounds faster and easier using less energy and to not cause over pruning stress to the tree.
Which causes a ton of epicormic growth that has a significantly weaker attachment point. So as that new spout grows into a full size branch, it'll be more likely to fail vs being pruned correctly prolonging the life of your tree. Also helps tremendously having your tree(s) pruned correctly because that means not having to trim your tree(s) every year saving you a ton of money!

Mulch can be one of the best things you add to a garden, just have to use the right kind.We recommend mulch that helps t...
05/03/2026

Mulch can be one of the best things you add to a garden, just have to use the right kind.
We recommend mulch that helps the soil, holds moisture, and breaks down in another useful way over time by turning into nutrient rich soil!

Cardboard, arborist wood chips, shredded leaves, and clean straw are the absolute best options and free!

Stay away from materials that can overheat the soil, leave behind junk, or create more cleanup later. Also try not to pile mulch too thick (2-3 inches is all you really need), especially with grass clippings, because they can mat down and turn nasty fast causing more issues.

Only simple rule is this: use natural mulch in light layers and never pile right against stems or tree trunks. Making sure to keep a ring of clearance as it could harm the plant or trees root flare health being smothered.

A black pot in July afternoon sun gets hot enough inside to damage the fine root hairs that absorb water and nutrients. ...
04/26/2026

A black pot in July afternoon sun gets hot enough inside to damage the fine root hairs that absorb water and nutrients. The plant above ground wilts. You add more water but the roots can't use it. You blame the sun or the watering schedule but you never look at the pot it's in!

Dark containers absorb heat through the walls and transfer it directlv into the soil. The thin plastic of a standard nursery pot (the container most plants come home in) offers almost no buffer. A tomato in a black pot on a south-facing patio in July is sitting in soil far hotter than the air around it.

Dark green and dark brown run only slightly cooler. Not enough difference to matter in peak summer

White pots reflect most of the incoming light instead of absorbing it. Internal soil temperatures stay dramatically lower, close to air temperature in the same sun. The roots stay functional. The plant performs.

Terracotta falls in the middle and adds a bonus, moisture wicks through the porous clay and ev***rates on the outside, pulling heat away from the soil the same way sweat cools skin.

Three easy fixes that don't require transplanting:

Double pot: Set the dark container inside a slightly larger light colored pot with an air gap between the walls. The outer pot reflects heat, the air gap insulates, and soil temperature drops significantly with zero transplant shock.

Paint it: A coat of white exterior latex paint on a black pot changes its thermal behavior completelv. One coat, ten minutes. and the pot reflects instead of absorbs.

Mulch the soil surface: Two to three inches of straw or wood chips inside the pot reduces surface heating and slows ev***ration between waterings.

The plant you lost last summer may not have been under watered. It may have been overheated by the container you never thought to question!

Plants and trees have their own social media!Mycelium networks, the "wood wide web" if you will, are intricate undergrou...
04/19/2026

Plants and trees have their own social media!

Mycelium networks, the "wood wide web" if you will, are intricate underground threads that connect trees and other living organisms. Formed by the association of mycelium with tree roots, these networks enable the transfer of nutrients, water, and chemical signals between trees, even of different species.

Here's how mycelium networks impact the ecosystem.

Nutrient and water transfer Mycelium helps plants absorb water and nutrients like phosphorus, while receiving sugars and organic compounds from the plants in return.

Forest decomposition:
Mycelia break down leaves and needles, transforming them into matter usable by other forest organisms.
Immune membrane Mycelium acts as an immune membrane by detecting and destroying dangerous pathogens.

Forest health Mycorrhizal networks enhance the overall health of the forest community.
Tree survival Saplings in shady areas rely on nutrients and sugar from older trees sent through the network.

A hypothetical plant community graphic depicting plant species that have varying associations with different types of mycorrhizal fungi. In a hypothetical plant community, the graphic illustrates the diverse associations between different plant species and various types of mycorrhizal fungi.
Mycorrhizal fungi are a highly diverse group of symbiotic fungi that form associations with plant roots, providing mutual benefits for both partners. While some plant species have evolved to form specific associations with particular types of mycorrhizal fungi, others may engage in associations with multiple fungal partners. These associations can vary in terms of their level of specificity and complexity. The graphic showcases the dynamic nature of these interactions, depicting how different plant species can have distinct associations with different types of mycorrhizal fungi. Such diversity in plant–fungi associations contributes to the resilience and functioning of plant communities by facilitating nutrient uptake, improving plant growth, and enhancing ecosystem sustainability.

You don't have to convert your whole yard and you still get that YOU time cutting the grass. You could just leave at lea...
04/12/2026

You don't have to convert your whole yard and you still get that YOU time cutting the grass. You could just leave at least a third of it alone and gain major yard benefits!

Designating roughly thirty percent of your yard as untreated — no herbicides, no insecticides, no synthetic fertilizer — creates a refuge that pollinators, ground-nesting bees, fireflies, and beneficial insects can survive in while the rest of your lawn gets whatever treatment you choose.

The best spots are the ones nobody walks on and nobody sees from the street. The back fence line. The strip under the big tree where grass struggles anyway. The awkward corner you already skip during mowing.

Major benefits move in:

- Ground-nesting bees establish in untreated soil — a single square yard of bare ground can host a dozen nesting females
- Firefly larvae survive. Lawn chemicals reach the soil layer where they feed. The untreated zone keeps the life cycle intact
- Ground beetles, parasitoid wasps, and predatory flies that control your pest insects need untreated ground to complete their life cycle. They can't build populations in treated soil

The change shows up in a single growing season. More pollinators visiting, more beneficial insects establishing, more fireflies the following summer.

The yard still looks the way you want it. While the little 30% is natural that will significantly help nature and increase property value.

When a tree is attacked by insects, it doesn’t just sit quietly. Instead, it releases special “stress chemicals” into th...
04/05/2026

When a tree is attacked by insects, it doesn’t just sit quietly. Instead, it releases special “stress chemicals” into the air — invisible signals that nearby trees can detect.

These airborne messages warn neighboring trees to activate their defenses, like producing bitter compounds or tougher leaves to make themselves less appealing to hungry insects.

It’s a fascinating example of how nature is deeply connected — forests are not just collections of trees, but living networks that look out for each other.

03/31/2026

Arbor Day is April 24.

If you plant ONE tree this month, make it native.

Doug Tallamy's research at University of Delaware:
→ A native white oak supports 557 species of caterpillars
→ A Bradford pear (one of America's most planted ornamentals): 1
→ A native black cherry: 456 caterpillar species
→ A crape myrtle (popular ornamental): 0

96% of land birds feed caterpillars to their babies.
No caterpillars = no baby birds.

THE PROBLEM WITH POPULAR ORNAMENTALS:
→ Bradford/Callery pear: invasive, weak wood, splits in storms, now BANNED in several states
→ Japanese maple: beautiful, but supports almost zero native insects
→ Crape myrtle: no wildlife value in most of its US range
→ Ginkgo: 5 caterpillar species (vs 557 for oak)

NATIVE TREES TO PLANT ON ARBOR DAY:
→ White oak (Quercus alba): 557 caterpillar species, lives 300+ years
→ Black cherry (Prunus serotina): 456 species, berries feed 40+ bird species
→ Red maple (Acer rubrum): early spring nectar for bees
→ Eastern redbud: beautiful spring flowers, supports native pollinators
→ Serviceberry (Amelanchier): berries, flowers, bird habitat — the perfect small yard tree

A native tree planted today will:
→ Feed hundreds of wildlife species for DECADES
→ Sequester carbon
→ Reduce your cooling bills 20-25%
→ Increase property value
→ Outlive you

One tree. Native. This month.

That's an Arbor Day that matters. 🌳

Lion's tailing" is a harmful pruning practice where all inner branches and foliage are removed, leaving only tufts at th...
03/29/2026

Lion's tailing" is a harmful pruning practice where all inner branches and foliage are removed, leaving only tufts at the branch tips, resembling a lion's tail. This improper technique creates severe end-weight, increasing the risk of branch failure, sunburn, and structural instability in trees.

Key Facts About Lion's Tailed Trees:

• Improper Pruning: It is considered a severe form of over-pruning, often mistaken for thinning, that violates proper tree care standards.

• Structural Damage: By concentrating all foliage at the tips, the branch becomes end-heavy, which increases the likelihood of breakage during wind or snow.

• Tree Health Risks: The loss of interior foliage often leads to sunscald on the bark and forces the tree to use stored energy to survive, often resulting in "epicormic" sprouts—a sign of severe stress.

• Correction: While hard to reverse, corrective pruning involves reducing the weight of the outer limbs, encouraging new growth to return to the center of the tree.

Why You Should Never Lion's Tail a Tree:

• Increased Danger: The weakened branches make the tree unstable, posing a risk to nearby homes and people.

• Reduced Life Span: The stress from this type of pruning can take years to recover from, and in many cases, it may kill the tree.

• Unnatural Form: The tree is stripped of its natural canopy, taking on an unnatural, sparse, or "spiked" appearance. Also it looks terrible.

Those tunnels in your lawn aren't what you think.They're from an Eastern Mole! And they have never eaten a single blade ...
03/23/2026

Those tunnels in your lawn aren't what you think.

They're from an Eastern Mole! And they have never eaten a single blade of grass. It's a carnivore and it's entire diet is underground insects, grubs, and earthworms.

The thing actually eating your grass roots is the Japanese beetle grub — a white C-shaped larva living in the top few inches of soil. That's what an Eastern Mole is hunting when it digs. A single mole eats tens of thousands of grubs per year.

The tunnels you see on the surface are hunting runs. Eastern Moles push through soft soil following grub trails the same way a dog follows a scent. The lawn lifts slightly above the tunnel. It looks messy. But underneath, the grub population is being controlled for FREE!

Those tunnels also aerate compacted soil and improve drainage. Grass roots grow better in soil that a mole has worked through than in soil that's been left compressed.

The brown patches that show up in late summer are usually GRUB DAMAGE, BUT NEVER MOLE DAMAGE. Removing the mole removes the hunter and the grubs stay destroying your grass.

If you have mole tunnels:

- Press the raised turf back down with your foot — the grass recovers in a few days
- The tunnels mean your soil has a healthy insect population, which means healthy soil biology overall
- If the tunneling is concentrated in one area, that's where the grub population is highest — the mole is showing you where the real problem lives
- A well-watered lawn softens the surface and reduces visible tunnel ridges

The tunnels aren't damage, they're valuable job sites!

Address

North Charleston, SC
29405

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 3pm
Tuesday 7am - 3pm
Wednesday 7am - 3pm
Thursday 7am - 3pm
Friday 7am - 2pm
Saturday 7am - 12pm

Telephone

+18432963262

Website

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