With the recent acquisition of one of the Tristate’s largest tree nursery businesses, Cincinnati arborist Tim Back is ripe to plant a multitude of trees.

Back, owner and president of Back Tree Service, says his Sharonville-based company has purchased Byrd Tree Planting Service & Nursery in Liberty, Indiana.

The 19-acre nursery has more than 1,200 trees up to 30 feet tall. All told, Back invested more than $500,000 to acquire the nursery, purchase new equipment and vehicles to operate it.

The business has been renamed Back Tree Nursery & Transplanting.

The buyout is significant because it provides Back the war chest to replace a vast canopy of tree loss in Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Indiana.

He says that millions of trees have died due to the Emerald Ash Borer, Asian Long Horn Beetle, Walnut Twig Beetle, four major droughts and other tree health issues in the last 10 years.

The deal allows Back’s company to meet the demand of providing larger trees consumers have requested for many years, setting it apart from traditional tree providers offering smaller trees.

Back plans to buy overgrown trees from other nurseries. That will include trees the nurseries would normally cut down to make room for new small trees they can handle.

“The benefits of planting large trees offer homeowners and businesses a faster restoration of the voided areas such as screening from the unwanted views along with privacy and replacement for instant shade,” Back said.

The nursery Back acquired includes shade trees such as Oaks and Maples, ornamental and flowering trees, pines as well as spruce to name a few.

“Many people have been crying out to have these more established trees.” Back says. “Seniors, for instance, want them, because they say we can’t buy time.”

Back’s company also will be able to offer services it did not offer before to thousands of existing clients. The buyout enlarges his customer reach to new Indiana and Ohio communities like Richmond, Connersville, Brookville and Oxford.

The deal marks Back Tree Service’s first acquisition ever and will transform its business model.

Back’s company has been providing tree care since 1987. In recent years Back has focused a big part of his business on handling the Emerald Ash Borer outbreak. Back Tree Service has saved over 11,000 Ash trees in our region in the last decade.

Now, Back has bought an established nursery that previous owners John and Jean Byrd operated since 1984, allowing Back to expand his service offerings.

As an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist, Back says the purchase enables him to use his skills to advise customers on how to select the right tree, where to place it and provide awareness on the importance of proper tree care.

Back estimates the cost to replace a sizeable tree could run from $800 to $ 2,000 per tree, depending on the project.

He projects the acquisition will boost revenues and lower his company’s liability risks as employees reduce their tree climbing activities.

“This transaction raises the bar of my company and supports the tree care industry with higher standards.” Back says.