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

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

Leaf loss, in one area or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most common evidence 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 choice for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Iron Ridge! Trained to recognize and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe remedies for problems that affect Wisconsin trees.

Alterations in leaf color are another identifier. Yellow leaves can be reflective of a fertilizer deficiency, 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 efficient 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 Iron Ridge.

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

Colorado blue spruces dot many yards. A close viewing, though, might discover proof 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 eventually killing these stunning trees.

Another possibility – 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 Iron Ridge are susceptible 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, a condition that affects trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t selective, either – its decay affects trees from a variety of species.

Insect pests pose serious threats 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 an unwelcome initiation for Iron Ridge homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Iron Ridge 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 absorb.

Just as you wouldn’t miss seeing 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 Iron Ridge.