If Your Trees Look Ill, Don’t Wait to Look Up a “Tree Doctor” in Decker Corner!

Trees, like people and animals, get ill. How do you reach 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 typical 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 top bet for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Decker Corner! Educated to identify and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe treatments for problems that afflict Wisconsin trees.

Changes in leaf color are another identifier. Yellow leaves can be reflective of a fertilizer shortage, often with oaks. However, yellow is the natural color of leaves on a sunburst locust tree. A Certified Arborist understands the difference, and how to read the messages of leaf colors!

Avoiding 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 Decker Corner.

What are they watching for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another sign of concern is crevices or cavities in trees, where moisture and insects collect. The goal is to identify ongoing or potential problems early. Avoiding a disease or insect infestation is much simpler 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 stop the fungus from devastating and eventually killing these stunning trees.

Another option – 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 Decker Corner are vulnerable to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Pre-emptive inspection can identify these realities in time to save the trees.

Application of fungicides can avoid root rot, a condition that affects 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 goes after birches. Linden borers mainly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been an unwelcome introduction for Decker Corner homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Decker Corner 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 absorb.

Just as you wouldn’t skip visiting a doctor for years on end, don’t gamble with the health of your trees. Contact Dorshak Tree Specialists for a complimentary checkup. Yes, their “tree doctors” still make house calls to Decker Corner.