If Your Trees Look Unhealthy, Don’t Wait to Contact a “Tree Doctor” in Cedar Park!

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

Leaf loss, in one area or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most usual indicator 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 best bet for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Cedar Park! Trained to detect and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe remedies for ailments that afflict Wisconsin trees.

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

Preventing 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 Cedar Park.

What are they looking for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another area 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 simpler than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces occupy many yards. A close inspection, though, might discover signs 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 block 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 much more resistance to insects and disease. Concolor firs and Norway spruces are alternatives to Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in Cedar Park are susceptible to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Pre-emptive inspection can identify these circumstances in time to save the trees.

Application of fungicides can avoid root rot, an ailment 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 deadly bronze birch borer attacks birches. Linden borers mainly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been a rude initiation for Cedar Park homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Cedar Park 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.

Preventing insect damage, 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 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 Cedar Park.