If Your Trees Look Sick, Don’t Wait to Look For a “Tree Doctor” in Oak Creek!

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

Leaf loss, in one section or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most typical sign of a problem. Mushroom growth, usually 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 Oak Creek! Trained to identify and diagnose diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe remedies for ailments that affect Wisconsin trees.

Alterations in leaf color are another identifier. Yellow leaves can be symptomatic of a fertilizer deficiency, 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 sound 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 Oak Creek.

What are they looking for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another sign of note is crevices or cavities in trees, where moisture and insects gather. The goal is to identify ongoing or potential problems proactively. Avoiding a disease or insect infestation is much simpler than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces fill many yards. A close viewing, 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 giveaway. Treatment can halt the fungus from devastating and eventually killing these stunning trees.

Another possibility – 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 Oak Creek 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, 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 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 an unwelcome introduction for Oak Creek homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Oak Creek 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.

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 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 Oak Creek.