If Your Trees Look Unhealthy, Don’t Wait to Summon a “Tree Doctor” in Sylvan Mounds!

Trees, like people and animals, get ill. How do you identify a “tree doctor” if your trees show signs 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 bet for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Sylvan Mounds! Trained to spot and diagnose diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe remedies for ailments that affect Wisconsin trees.

Changes in leaf color are another identifier. Yellow leaves can be evidence of a fertilizer shortage, often with oaks. Yet, yellow is the normal color of leaves on a sunburst locust tree. A Certified Arborist understands 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 Sylvan Mounds.

What are they hunting for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another area of potential alarm is crevices or cavities in trees, where moisture and insects collect. The goal is to spot ongoing or potential problems proactively. Avoiding a disease or insect infestation is much easier than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces dot many yards. A close inspection, though, might find 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 thwart the fungus from devastating and ultimately killing these stunning 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 Sylvan Mounds are vulnerable to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Pre-emptive inspection can identify these conditions in time to save the trees.

Application of fungicides can prevent root rot, an ailment 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 lethal bronze birch borer attacks birches. Linden borers mostly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been a rude initiation for Sylvan Mounds homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Sylvan Mounds 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 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 skip seeing 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 Sylvan Mounds.