About

After graduating from Penn State University with a degree in Landscape Contracting Barry set out to build a landscape company. Working alongside the crews during the day, nights were spent designing and selling projects. It was very rewarding to transform his client’s landscapes and outdoor spaces.

Fast forward almost 30 years, and although he is no longer intricately involved with every aspect of the projects Burkholder builds, Barry is still passionate about landscape design and the spaces created. Barry is a Pennsylvania certified horticulturalist and a plant lover.

Over the years, as Burkholder Landscaping has evolved, so has Barry. He has gained a love for business and the green industry as a whole. Barry is consistently working to improve his business, his managements skills, and the services his company offers.

One area that Barry identified as a weakness not only at Burkholder Landscaping, but in the green industry as a whole, is the ability to properly diagnose and treat the challenges that affect trees and shrubs. From that, Burkholder Plant Heath Care was created. Plant Heath Care is a complex science. Barry set the bar high. He is committed to hiring the best in the field, creating opportunities for them to reach their goals, and working together to make Burkholder Plant Heath Care the industry best.

Starker is the manager of Burkholder Plant Health Care, field consultant, and primary salesperson.  Starker graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 2001 with a degree in agroecology, while serving for 8 years as the field coordinator of the University of Massachusetts Tree Fruit Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program.  He also served as a Military Intelligence Officer for the US Army and Army National Guard from 1991-2004.  

From 2001-2013, Starker worked for the Insect Behavior and Ecology Program at the Appalachian Fruit Research Station with USDA-Agricultural Research Service in Kearneysville, West Virginia, developing and testing biologically based management techniques for key native and invasive pests of tree fruit.  As a field scientist, Starker has authored and co-authored over 80 research and extension publications, focusing on integration of biological, cultural, and chemical management of tree health.  

From 2018-2021, Starker worked with Bartlett Tree Experts in Dublin, PA, beginning as a Plant Health Care Specialist and progressing to Arborist Representative and Local Office Manager.  In 2021, he started Burkholder Plant Health Care (PHC) along with owner Barry Burkholder as an extension of Burkholder Brothers Landscape in Malvern, PA. 

Burkholder PHC offers a full suite of plant protection services, including insect and disease control, soil care, and cultural management of plant health. Burkholder PHC was founded on the principles of IPM, executing a research- and knowledge-supported system of management tactics that permits maintenance of beautiful landscape plants with minimal ecological damage.

Starker is an ISA certified arborist, a PA licensed commercial applicator, and has worked in plant health care and pest management for more than 30 years.  Starker has two daughters, is an avid outdoorsman and sports enthusiast, and lives in Malvern, PA.

Brian is an arborist and plant health care specialist at Burkholder Plant Health Care, performing landscape plant and tree inspections, insect/disease pest treatments, soil analysis and amendments, tree and shrub pruning, and improvements of plant physiology. Brian is also the primary consulting salesperson for structural care of landscape trees and shrubs. Brian graduated from Temple University in 2018 with a B.S. in horticulture and has moved through the arborist ranks: plant nursery technician, qualified tree-care groundperson, advanced climber, field crew leader, PA licensed commercial plant health care specialist, sales and customer service associate, and ISA certified arborist.

Prior to Burkholder PHC Brian worked for 8 years with Morris Arboretum, Holly Days Nursery, and Bartlett Tree Experts, and with a comprehensive background in arboriculture, Brian is highly knowledgeable about the health of trees and shrubs and the appropriate preventative or corrective actions that must be taken to ensure sustainable health and vigor. With core values of hard work, pride, and passion for living things, Brian is committed to treating residential landscapes with care and respect, and enjoys putting in the extra effort required to maintain high-level plant health and aesthetics. Brian grew up and currently lives in Bucks County, PA and spends his free time with family, traveling, hiking, camping, and staying fit.

Andy is an arborist and plant health care specialist at Burkholder Plant Health Care, performing landscape plant and tree inspections, insect/disease pest treatments, soil analysis and amendments, tree and shrub pruning, and improvements of plant physiology. Andy is also the senior technical arborist climber and one of the most experienced landscape plant health care specialists in the country.

Andy’s affinity for the outdoors and things that grow was instilled at an early age, growing up on his family’s dairy farm in north-central PA. Strong work ethic and adaptability led him to pursue a college degree at Penn State University, and forest science caught his interest. He finished out his education with an internship with Bartlett Tree Experts to complete a BS in arboriculture, specializing in urban forestry. Andy took a position at Bartlett as full-time employee where he remained for 21 years, rising through the ranks and holding senior positions in both the tree care and plant health care departments.

Andy has been a PA certified applicator and ISA certified arborist for his entire career and has successfully run PHC programs in several local-area offices of Bartlett Tree Experts. Recently, Andy was the supervising tree crew leader for the Souderton branch of Joshua Tree Experts before coming to Burkholder PHC, reuniting with the area of his professional career that he has always excelled at.

Nick is a plant health care specialist and arborist trainee at Burkholder Plant Health Care, performing landscape plant and tree inspections, insect/disease pest treatments, soil analysis and amendments, tree and shrub pruning, and improvements of plant physiology. Nick grew up in King of Prussia and is a third-generation arborist on the Main Line, a family career that has guided his lifetime interest in landscape design and maintenance.

Nick graduated from Lasalle College High School and attended Delaware Valley University in Doylestown, PA and began his professional career at the King of Prussia, PA location of Ruppert Landscape. In three years at Ruppert, Nick’s primary assignment was comprehensive management of the award-winning landscape at Cira Green, the rooftop park at Cira Center South in Philadelphia. Nick is a PA certified commercial applicator specializing in ornamental plant health care and represents the next generation of leaders in our industry. Aside from arboriculture and landscaping, Nick’s family is deeply entrenched in the local business culture, owning and operating Harlan Beverage in Malvern.