When you need a tree trimmed or cut down, a stump removed, or even the health of a tree assessed, the right expert to call is your local tree service. The average homeowner, even if he or she has the best of intentions, isn't trained to handle such tasks — and attempting them could result in a serious injury or damage to the residence. What you might not know, however, is that your local tree service can also be a business to call when you need to buy a few things that you might otherwise think of getting elsewhere. Here are three things of which your tree service may be an ideal source:

Tree Care Products

Some tree services have a retail business that sells products that you can use to care for your trees. While many similar products are typically available at your local big-box store, what you won't get in this environment is expertise. Instead, if you visit your local tree service to buy these products, you'll gain a high degree of knowledge about how to use them. Products such as fertilizer and other tree care products can play a key role in the overall health and longevity of the trees throughout your yard, so buying them from someone who can provide you with a high degree of education about tree health is a good idea.

Firewood

When you have a wood-burning fireplace in your home and need to buy an order of firewood in the fall, you might consider several options. For example, some people buy large bags of firewood from their local garden center, home supply store, or even the nearest general merchandise store. Before you buy the wood, it's worthwhile to call one or two of your local tree services to determine whether or not they sell firewood. In many cases, you'll find that they indeed do — after cutting down trees, some tree services will chop up the wood to sell.

Wood Chips

Wood chips can have several useful applications in your yard, including use as a weed-control product in your garden. Instead of looking to buy a bag of wood chips from your local garden center — and perhaps paying more than you'd like — you should first call the local tree service. Tree services collect wood chips when they mulch branches. Unless the homeowner has specifically asked for the mulch, the tree service will often cart it back to a central base and sell it to interested parties.

Contact a company like Hudson & Sons Tree Service for more information and assistance.