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

Trees, like people and animals, get ill. How do you identify 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 indicator 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 Blackhawk Island! Educated to spot and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe treatments for problems that afflict Wisconsin trees.

Changes in leaf color are another symptom. Yellow leaves can be evidence 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 translate the messages of leaf colors!

Averting 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 Blackhawk Island.

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

Colorado blue spruces dot many yards. A close look, 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 stop the fungus from devastating and ultimately killing these lovely 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 Blackhawk Island 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, a condition 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 a rude initiation for Blackhawk Island homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Blackhawk Island 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.

Blocking insect harm, 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 skip visiting a doctor for years on end, don’t gamble with the well-being of your trees. Contact Dorshak Tree Specialists for a complimentary checkup. Yes, their “tree doctors” still make house calls to Blackhawk Island.