Ronald Zillmer
A Lifetime of Work on the Leading Edge of Tree Care
Ronald Zillmer (Ron) has spent his entire life advancing the science and practice of Arboriculture.
While attending UW Steven's Point for Urban Forestry, Ron had the opportunity to work with Dr. Alex Shigo, the father of modern tree-care. Ron describes, "having his eyes opened," by Shigo to the possibilities for the future of tree science and understanding. While attending Puirdue University for his Masters in Tree Physiology, Ron performed research that helped bring Paclobutrazol to market, a powerful tool for Arborists that is now ubiquitous in it's application for helping stressed trees and regulating growth.
Early in his career, Ron realized the serious and widespread impact of our methods of containerization and deep-planting. While serving as a department head for the City of Milwaukee's Forestry Department, Ron performed countless autopsies on failed trees, building his knowledge of how trees establish in the urban environment. Almost a decade of autopsies confirmed to Ron that our planting practices were not only to blame for poor performance, but created serious life-long issues for many trees.
Ron returned to Stevens Point, this time as an educator. During his tenure, he helped to establish state apprenticeship programs in Arboriculture, pushing the industry quality of care to new levels. Ron also began consulting internationally in tree development and physiology- working as far away as Hong Kong, for the Chinese government. Many Arborists know Ron from hearing him speak at conferences. His most famous presentation is called, "Twenty Minutes in the Life or Death of a Tree," which details how simple concepts in planting can make a tree successful.
In 2016, Ron was awarded the Advancing Arboriculture award by the Tree Care Industry Association for his work in training programs.
For the past few years, Ron has directed his energies into finding a solution for the future of planting. The product of all his experience and work is Legacy-Trees. Ron's operations are based in the Holmen/La Crosse area, where they have been developing the system with incredible results.
ArborWise is honored to be working directly with Ron and Legacy-Tree. Ron personally educates our crew with workshops and on-the-job training, and travels to Rochester frequently to consult with clients and attend planting operations. Ron is making the future brighter for urban trees, and we are excited to be a part of his work.
