If Your Trees Look Unhealthy, Don’t Wait to Summon a “Tree Doctor” in Theresa Station!

Trees, like people and animals, get sick. How do you reach a “tree doctor” if your trees show indicators of poor health?

Leaf loss, in one area or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most common symptom of a problem. Mushroom growth, typically from a trunk or base, is another. A spate of dead limbs can be a symptom.

An ISA-Certified Arborist from Dorshak Tree Specialists is your best bet for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Theresa Station! Educated to identify and diagnose diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe solutions for problems that afflict Wisconsin trees.

Alterations in leaf color are another symptom. Yellow leaves can be reflective of a fertilizer shortage, often with oaks. However, yellow is the normal color of leaves on a sunburst locust tree. A Certified Arborist recognizes the difference, and how to translate the messages of leaf colors!

Avoiding problems is the most practical approach to tree health. It’s advisable to have your trees inspected every three to five years by a Certified Arborist. Dorshak Tree Service, with seven Certified Arborists on staff, offers this service for free for tree owners in and around Theresa Station.

What are they hunting for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another area of note is crevices or cavities in trees, where moisture and insects collect. The goal is to spot existing or potential problems proactively. Blocking a disease or insect infestation is far easier than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces occupy many yards. A close inspection, though, might find proof of Rhizosphaera needle cast, a fungus that attacks this non-native species. Brown needles, or collected needles beneath a tree, are a giveaway. Treatment can thwart the fungus from devastating and eventually killing these lovely trees.

Another option – again, long before reaching this point – is planting trees with similar aesthetics, yet much more resistance to insects and disease. Concolor firs and Norway spruces are substitutes for Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in Theresa Station are vulnerable to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Pre-emptive inspection can identify these realities in time to save the trees.

Application of fungicides can avoid root rot, a condition that affects trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t picky, either – its decay affects trees from a wide range of species.

Insect pests pose serious dangers to residential trees. Insects are usually host specific, meaning they target one species. The deadly bronze birch borer attacks birches. Linden borers mainly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been a rude initiation for Theresa Station homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Theresa Station and Wisconsin in recent years.

Another invasive, the spotted lanternfly, is moving west after its discovery in Pennsylvania in 2014. The China native feeds on more than 70 tree species, including maples, oaks, lindens, hickory and black walnut.

Preventing insect damage, once again, is often a matter of proactivity. Repellents are applied in two ways: injecting directly into trees, or drenching soil beneath for roots to absorb.

Just as you wouldn’t miss seeing a doctor for years on end, don’t gamble with the health of your trees. Contact Dorshak Tree Specialists for a complimentary checkup. Yes, their “tree doctors” still make house calls to Theresa Station.