Yep

I finally got a chance to see the tree yesterday. Ouch! I didn't want to believe my eyes -- it fits my definition of butchered. Limb tips are sliced and not cleanly pruned and will result in bushy suckers. Apparently the newspaper reporter was under-educated about the issue.

And I should have clarified about being licensed versus being certified. Your description matches what I've learned about the difference.

In any case, people should definitely avoid unlicensed -- cheap, but often deadly to trees!

By Joe O'Connor