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

Trees, like people and animals, get ill. How do you locate 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 typical symptom 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 Crestview! Trained to spot and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe remedies for problems that affect Wisconsin trees.

Alterations in leaf color are another red flag. Yellow leaves can be reflective of a fertilizer deficit, 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 translate the messages of leaf colors!

Preventing problems is the most practical 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 Crestview.

What are they watching for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another area of concern is crevices or cavities in trees, where moisture and insects collect. The goal is to identify ongoing or possible problems proactively. Blocking a disease or insect infestation is much easier than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces fill many yards. A close viewing, though, might find evidence 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 decimating and ultimately killing these stunning 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 Crestview are susceptible 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 block root rot, an ailment that affects trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t selective, either – its decay affects trees from a wide range 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 goes after birches. Linden borers mostly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been a rude introduction for Crestview homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Crestview and Wisconsin in recent years.

Another invasive, the spotted lanternfly, is moving 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 absorb.

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 Crestview.