Our company provides services in arboriculture, horticulture and agronomy to public agencies and private companies throughout Western Canada.

- For municipalities and public agencies

- For landscape and arboriculture companies

- For nurseries and greenhouses

- For golf courses

- For gardeners and home owners

Municipalities and public agencies

Our services to public agencies include:

   - A critical review of the current pest management program in order to minimize the use of pesticides, especially for "cosmetic" purposes;
   - On-site diagnostic of plant problems and development of programs in Integrated Pest Management;
   - Set-up and maintenance of on-site trials to verify procedures;
   - Advice and recommendations on all practices related to Plant Health Care, such as tree planting, fertilization, irrigation or pruning.

We perform hazard tree evaluations:

   - Public site managers must ensure a reasonable level of safety on a public site.  This "duty of care" has been confirmed through legal jurisprudence;
   - Our training includes the "Wildlife / Danger Tree Assessor's Course for Parks and Recreation Sites" (see the page "Hazard Trees");
   - We also attended 2 full-day lectures by Dr. Claus Mattheck, recognized as a world expert on tree mechanics (see the page "Body language");
   - Our company does not prune, remove or spray trees.  We offer an independent, professional opinion on the best course of action to be taken by the public agency for public safety and tree conservation. 

We offer training services on specific topics:

   - Training workshops for agency employees can be organized on specific topics.  For more information, please visit the page "Training Services".

Landscape and arboriculture companies

Our services to landscape and arboriculture companies include:

   - On-site diagnostic of plant problems and recommendations for the most appropriate course of action;
   - We focus on the use of low toxicity pesticides and can design a program paralleling "organic" farming practices;
   - Set-up and maintenance of on-site trials to verify in-house procedures or to develop a new service;
   - Hazard evaluation of large trees and recommendations for pest management, target pruning, or complete removal;
   - Advice and recommendations on all practices related to Plant Health Care, such as pruning, fertilization, irrigation or the preparation and use of composted products;
   - Mario Lanthier is a "Certified Arborist" with the International Society of Arboriculture (see the page "Arborist Certificate").

 We design customized IPM programs:

   - Home owners are demanding low toxicity procedures for common plant problems.  Landscape companies must develop leading-edge services to remain competitive;
   - Since 1994, we have helped maintenance and spray companies make the transition from traditional pest control to an Integrated Pest Management approach.  We can help your company develop the most appropriate service for your situation (see the page "IPM for companies").

We offer training services on specific topics:

   - Training workshops for company employees can be organized on specific topics.  For more information, please visit the page "Training Services".

Nurseries and greenhouses

Our services to nurseries and greenhouses include:

   - On-site diagnostic of plant problems and recommendations for the most appropriate course of action;
   - Installation and maintenance of monitoring traps for field and greenhouse insects;
   - On-site testing of media pH and salts for container production with reliable field tools and recognized testing procedures;
   - Soil sampling, tissue sampling and interpretation of laboratory results for fertilization programs, including the preparation of soil fertilizer blends;
   - Release of predator insects and monitoring of their activity;
   - Set-up and maintenance of on-site trials to verify procedures, including the preparation and use of composted products.
   - Mario Lanthier has a "Certificate of Training" as a nursery auditor from Agriculture Canada (see the page "Nursery Certificate").

We perform porosity testing of potting mixes:

   - Porosity is the open space in the potting mix that can be filled with air or water.  A good potting mix should have adequate air space to promote healthy root development yet have sufficient water-holding capacity;
   - Porosity is dependent on the structure of the potting mix.  We assist nurseries in preparing a potting mix that has adequate porosity while using locally-available ingredients;
   - For more information about porosity testing, consult the pamphlet Importance of Aeration in Container Media, published by the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, available as an Acrobat file at the web address:
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/ornamentals/floriculture/aeration.pdf

 We design customized Integrated Pest Management programs:

   - Regulatory agencies are asking all pesticide users to develop low toxicity procedures for common plant problems;
   - Since 1994, we have helped nurseries make the transition from traditional pest control to an IPM approach.  We can help your nursery develop the most appropriate service for your situation (see the page "IPM for nurseries").

We offer training services on specific topics:

   - Training workshops for company employees can be organized on specific topics.  For more information, please visit the page "Training Services".

Golf courses

Our services to golf courses include:

   - On-site diagnostic of plant problems and prescription of corrective measures;
   - Critical review of the current pest management program for insects and diseases of trees and shrubs;
   - Mario Lanthier is a "Certified Arborist" with the International Society of Arboriculture (see the page "Arborist Certificate").

We perform hazard tree evaluation:

   - Managers of public sites must ensure a reasonable level of safety on a public site.  This "duty of care" has been confirmed through legal action after trees fell on persons or private property;
   - Our training includes the "Wildlife / Danger Tree Assessor's Course for Parks and Recreation Sites" (see the page "Hazard Trees");
   - Our company does not prune, remove or spray trees.  We offer an independent, professional opinion on the best course of action to be taken by the golf course for public safety and tree conservation. 

Gardeners and home owners

Are you getting the best value for the money spent?

   - We offer a custom-made review of your situation, the problems and solutions specific to your site, and a critical analysis of the programs you purchase from commercial companies.
   - Our company does not prune, remove or spray trees.  We offer an independent, professional opinion on the best course of action for your site and for optimum plant performance. 

Our services to home owners are limited:

   - Please note that our services are designed mostly for commercial accounts.  If you have a particular problem, our preference is to work in concert with the company servicing your property;
   - We offer on-site diagnostic of plant problems and advice on all practices related to Plant Health Care, such as pest management, pruning, fertilization and watering;
   - We perform hazard evaluation of large trees and recommendations for pest management, target pruning, or complete removal (see the page "Hazard Trees");
   - Mario Lanthier is a "Certified Arborist" in good standing with the International Society of Arboriculture (see the page "Arborist Certificate").

- Website of Don Burnett, garden consultant based in Kelowna
www.thegardenexpert.com.
- Website of "Hortsense", based at Washington State University http://pep.wsu.edu/Hortsense/.