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

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

Leaf loss, in one area or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most typical 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 Hales Corners! Educated to spot and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe remedies for problems that affect Wisconsin trees.

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

Preventing 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 Hales Corners.

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

Colorado blue spruces dot many yards. A close look, though, might find evidence of Rhizosphaera needle cast, a fungus that attacks this non-native species. Brown needles, or collected needles beneath a tree, are a symptom. Treatment can halt the fungus from devastating and ultimately killing these beautiful trees.

Another possibility – 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 Hales Corners are susceptible to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Proactive inspection can identify these conditions in time to save the trees.

Application of fungicides can avoid root rot, an ailment that afflicts trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t selective, 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 deadly bronze birch borer goes after birches. Linden borers mostly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been an unwelcome initiation for Hales Corners homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Hales Corners 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.

Avoiding insect damage, once again, is about 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 Hales Corners.