If Your Trees Look Sick, Don’t Wait to Summon a “Tree Doctor” in Hales Corners!

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

Leaf loss, in one area or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most usual evidence 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 top choice for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Hales Corners! Educated to detect 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 deficit, often with oaks. Yet, yellow is the natural color of leaves on a sunburst locust tree. A Certified Arborist recognizes the difference, and how to read 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 Hales Corners.

What are they watching 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 ongoing or potential problems early. Blocking a disease or insect infestation is far simpler than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces occupy many yards. A close viewing, though, might discover proof of Rhizosphaera needle cast, a fungus that attacks this non-native species. Brown needles, or piles of needles beneath a tree, are a symptom. Treatment can thwart the fungus from devastating and ultimately killing these lovely trees.

Another option – again, long before reaching this point – is planting trees with similar aesthetics, yet far more resistance to insects and disease. Concolor firs and Norway spruces are substitutes for Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in Hales Corners 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 prevent root rot, an ailment that affects trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t choosy, either – its decay affects trees from a variety 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 goes after birches. Linden borers mostly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been a rude introduction for Hales Corners homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Hales Corners 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.

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 skip 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 Hales Corners.