Specializing in Japanese Maples Since 1986
John Shearouse
John Shearouse has a high level of commitment and expertise in Japanese Maples. With a career spanning nearly 40 years, he has dedicated his career to the care of trees.
Georgia licensed grower for over 30 years
Landscape Contractor for 25 years
Bachelor of Science in Biology from Piedmont University
Has spent the last 35 years working with trees every day
Extensive experience in treatment of pests and diseases in old, valuable trees
MPDES Training
Expert in pruning
GA Licensed Commercial Pesticide Applicator
ISA Certified Arborist of many years
John has an extensive amount of knowledge about the biological needs of Japanese Maple trees and how to manage their health and wellbeing. John has successfully used Japanese Maples on most projects. John also develops tree preservation plans for properties.
John owns and operates Focal Point Trees, LLC, located in Lavonia, Georgia.
The Shearouse Family
Our Story
Better, more adaptive specimen trees for our local environment.
Focal Point Trees, LLC began as Shearouse Nursery in 1986 producing ornamental maples of various species from seed. We quickly learned that dwarf Japanese Maples were the trees we would specialize in due to their versatility, small size, and hardiness. We now produce and ship some of the largest, most durable and unique specimen Japanese Maples on the market today. We also produce several other species of trees and shrubs for specimen and privacy planting. Some of these are Trident Maple, Red Maple, Eastern Hemlock, Osmanthus and Holly.
One of the outstanding components that adds to the adaptability of our larger trees is a specialized pre-dug system. Our older Japanese Maples and other trees are dug 1-3 years prior to shipping and undergo a long preparation period prior to shipping. Many of these trees are 20-40 years old and are moved very successfully even with our environmental challenges of today. This system was developed over the years as a necessity to prevent losses of older trees when moving them around at our tree nursery.
We provide trees and our planning expertise for challenging projects throughout the eastern U.S. as well as many memorial projects all over. John Shearouse has been a Certified Arborist for many years and does consulting planning for projects involving trees as well as tree assessments and tree appraisals.
Additional Services
Expert selection of trees and shrubs for a specific site.
Tree assessment and soil testing
Detailed Site Evaluation
Identification of problematic trees or shrubs that could lead to property damage or excessive maintenance
Prevention of expensive root damage to properties
Consulting services
Replacement Trees