If Your Trees Look Ill, Don’t Wait to Look Up a “Tree Doctor” in Oakland!

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

Leaf loss, in one area or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most typical indicator of a problem. Mushroom growth, regularly 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 top choice for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Oakland! Trained to detect and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe treatments for ailments that affect Wisconsin trees.

Alterations in leaf color are another red flag. Yellow leaves can be reflective of a fertilizer deficit, 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 read the messages of leaf colors!

Preventing 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 Oakland.

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

Colorado blue spruces fill many yards. A close viewing, though, might discover evidence of Rhizosphaera needle cast, a fungus that attacks this non-native species. Brown needles, or piles of needles beneath a tree, are a symptom. Treatment can block the fungus from devastating and eventually killing these lovely trees.

Another possibility – 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 alternatives to Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in Oakland 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 prevent root rot, an ailment that afflicts trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t picky, either – its decay affects trees from a multitude 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 Oakland homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Oakland and Wisconsin in recent years.

Another invasive, the spotted lanternfly, is heading 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.

Blocking 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 skip visiting 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 Oakland.