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

Trees, like people and animals, get sick. How do you identify 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 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 top bet for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Myra! Trained to detect and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe treatments for problems that affect Wisconsin trees.

Alterations in leaf color are another identifier. Yellow leaves can be symptomatic of a fertilizer deficiency, often with oaks. However, yellow is the normal color of leaves on a sunburst locust tree. A Certified Arborist understands the difference, and how to read 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 Myra.

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 spot ongoing or possible problems early. Avoiding a disease or insect infestation is far easier than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces dot many yards. A close viewing, though, might find evidence 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 thwart the fungus from devastating and eventually killing these lovely 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 Myra are vulnerable 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 avoid root rot, an ailment that affects trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t choosy, 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 lethal bronze birch borer goes after birches. Linden borers mostly target lindens. 

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

Another invasive, the spotted lanternfly, is inching 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 Myra.