If Your Trees Look Sick, Don’t Wait to Look Up a “Tree Doctor” in Ozaukee County!

Trees, like people and animals, get sick. How do you identify 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 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 best bet for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Ozaukee County! Educated to detect and diagnose diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe solutions for problems that affect Wisconsin trees.

Alterations in leaf color are another red flag. Yellow leaves can be symptomatic 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 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 Ozaukee County.

What are they looking for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another sign of concern is crevices or cavities in trees, where moisture and insects gather. The goal is to identify existing or potential problems early. Blocking 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 signs of Rhizosphaera needle cast, a fungus that attacks this non-native species. Brown needles, or piles of needles beneath a tree, are a giveaway. Treatment can block the fungus from devastating and eventually killing these lovely 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 alternatives to Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in Ozaukee County are vulnerable to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Proactive inspection can identify these circumstances 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 picky, either – its decay affects trees from a multitude of species.

Insect pests pose serious dangers 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 an unwelcome initiation for Ozaukee County homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Ozaukee County 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 about 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 Ozaukee County.