If Your Trees Look Unhealthy, Don’t Wait to Contact a “Tree Doctor” in Knowles!

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 section or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most usual sign 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 choice for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Knowles! Educated to detect and diagnose diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe remedies for problems that afflict Wisconsin trees.

Alterations in leaf color are another red flag. Yellow leaves can be reflective of a fertilizer shortage, 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 interpret the messages of leaf colors!

Avoiding 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 Knowles.

What are they looking for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another area of note 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 much easier than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces dot many yards. A close viewing, though, might discover 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 stop 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 far more resistance to insects and disease. Concolor firs and Norway spruces are alternatives to Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in Knowles are susceptible to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Proactive inspection can identify these realities 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 choosy, 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 attacks birches. Linden borers mostly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been an unwelcome introduction for Knowles homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Knowles 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 often a matter of 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 health of your trees. Contact Dorshak Tree Specialists for a complimentary checkup. Yes, their “tree doctors” still make house calls to Knowles.