If Your Trees Look Sick, Don’t Wait to Call a “Tree Doctor” in Sylvan Mounds!

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

Leaf loss, in one section or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most typical evidence of a problem. Mushroom growth, usually 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 bet for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Sylvan Mounds! Trained to spot and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe solutions for ailments that affect Wisconsin trees.

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

Avoiding problems is the most effective 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 Sylvan Mounds.

What are they looking for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another area of potential alarm is crevices or cavities in trees, where moisture and insects collect. The goal is to identify ongoing or possible problems early. Preventing a disease or insect infestation is much simpler than curing them once established.

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

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

Other tree species in Sylvan Mounds are susceptible to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Pre-emptive inspection can identify these circumstances in time to save the trees.

Application of fungicides can prevent root rot, an ailment that affects trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t picky, either – its decay affects trees from a variety of species.

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

The emerald ash borer has been a rude introduction for Sylvan Mounds homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Sylvan Mounds 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.

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 skip visiting a doctor for years on end, don’t risk the health of your trees. Contact Dorshak Tree Specialists for a complimentary checkup. Yes, their “tree doctors” still make house calls to Sylvan Mounds.