If Your Trees Look Unhealthy, Don’t Wait to Look Up a “Tree Doctor” in Slades Corners!

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

Leaf loss, in one section or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most usual indicator 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 best bet for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Slades Corners! Trained to recognize and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe solutions for ailments that afflict Wisconsin trees.

Alterations in leaf color are another identifier. Yellow leaves can be evidence of a fertilizer deficit, often with oaks. However, yellow is the natural color of leaves on a sunburst locust tree. A Certified Arborist knows the difference, and how to interpret 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 Slades Corners.

What are they hunting for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another sign of potential alarm is crevices or cavities in trees, where moisture and insects collect. The goal is to identify ongoing or possible problems early. Avoiding a disease or insect infestation is much simpler 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 ultimately killing these stunning trees.

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

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

Application of fungicides can prevent root rot, a condition that afflicts trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t selective, either – its decay affects trees from a multitude of species.

Insect pests pose serious threats 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 an unwelcome initiation for Slades Corners homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Slades Corners 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 harm, once again, is about proactivity. Repellents are applied in two ways: injecting directly into trees, or drenching soil beneath for roots to take in.

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 Slades Corners.