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

Trees, like people and animals, get ill. 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 indicator of a problem. Mushroom growth, regularly 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 diagnose diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe solutions for ailments that affect Wisconsin trees.

Alterations in leaf color are another red flag. Yellow leaves can be symptomatic of a fertilizer deficiency, 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!

Averting 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 Iron Ridge.

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

Colorado blue spruces occupy many yards. A close inspection, 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 giveaway. Treatment can thwart the fungus from decimating and eventually killing these lovely 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 substitutes for Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in Iron Ridge are vulnerable 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 avoid 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 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 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 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 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.