Tree Care in Ancient Rome

Orchards and Agriculture
- Roman estates (villae rusticae) often had orchards of olives, figs, apples, pears, and other fruit trees.
- Writers like Cato the Elder, Varro, and Columella described methods for pruning, grafting, and cultivating fruit trees in their agricultural treatises.
- Proper pruning was recognized as essential for healthy growth and productivity — a principle still central in modern arboriculture.
Vineyards and Trellising with Trees
- Romans often trained grapevines to grow up living trees (especially elms and poplars), a practice called arbustum.
- This required careful management of both the vine and the supporting tree, showing their understanding of plant relationships.
Sacred and Symbolic Trees
- Certain trees were considered sacred, such as the oak (Jupiter), olive (Minerva), and laurel (Apollo).
- Sacred groves were preserved and protected, which meant they required intentional care and respect, resembling early conservation efforts.
Urban and Civic Uses
- In Rome and other cities, trees were planted along roads, in courtyards, and in public gardens.
- Pliny the Younger famously described his villa gardens, where ornamental and shade trees were arranged aesthetically.
- Maintaining these trees required pruning, irrigation, and protection — early forms of landscape arboriculture.

Arboriculture Knowledge

Roman agricultural manuals show they understood grafting techniques, soil needs, and pest control for trees.
Columella’s De Re Rustica (1st century CE) is especially detailed about tree cultivation, giving practical advice that would still make sense to a modern arborist.
Roman estates employed specialized workers (vilici, gardeners, vine-dressers) who had skills in tree care.

While the Romans didn’t have professional tree services like West Coast Tree Service today, they absolutely practiced arboriculture. Their orchards, sacred groves, vineyards, and ornamental plantings required organized and skilled tree care. In many ways, Roman techniques — pruning, grafting, and training vines on trees — laid the groundwork for European arboriculture traditions that later influenced the modern profession.