If Your Trees Look Ill, Don’t Wait to Summon a “Tree Doctor” in Rugby Junction!

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 typical evidence of a problem. Mushroom growth, regularly 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 Rugby Junction! Educated to spot and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe treatments for ailments 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 normal 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 efficient 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 Rugby Junction.

What are they hunting 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 spot ongoing or possible problems early. Avoiding a disease or insect infestation is much easier than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces dot many yards. A close look, though, might discover evidence 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 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 far more resistance to insects and disease. Concolor firs and Norway spruces are alternatives to Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in Rugby Junction are susceptible 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, an ailment that afflicts 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 mainly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been a rude initiation for Rugby Junction homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Rugby Junction 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 miss seeing 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 Rugby Junction.