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

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

Leaf loss, in one area or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most common sign 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 Iron Ridge! Educated to identify and diagnose diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe remedies for problems that afflict Wisconsin trees.

Changes in leaf color are another symptom. 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 knows 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 Iron Ridge.

What are they searching for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another area of note is crevices or cavities in trees, where moisture and insects collect. The goal is to identify existing or possible problems proactively. Preventing a disease or insect infestation is far easier than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces occupy many yards. A close viewing, though, might discover 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 possibility – again, long before reaching this point – is planting trees with similar aesthetics, yet much more resistance to insects and disease. Concolor firs and Norway spruces are substitutes for Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in Iron Ridge are susceptible to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Proactive inspection can identify these circumstances in time to save the trees.

Application of fungicides can block root rot, a condition that afflicts trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t choosy, either – its decay affects trees from a wide range 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 attacks birches. Linden borers mainly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been a rude introduction 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 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 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 skip visiting a doctor for years on end, don’t risk the well-being of your trees. Contact Dorshak Tree Specialists for a complimentary checkup. Yes, their “tree doctors” still make house calls to Iron Ridge.