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

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

Leaf loss, in one section or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most typical 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 top choice for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Saint Lawrence! Trained to identify and diagnose diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe solutions for problems that afflict Wisconsin trees.

Alterations in leaf color are another symptom. Yellow leaves can be symptomatic of a fertilizer deficiency, often with oaks. Yet, yellow is the natural color of leaves on a sunburst locust tree. A Certified Arborist recognizes the difference, and how to translate 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 Saint Lawrence.

What are they watching for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another sign of potential alarm is crevices or cavities in trees, where moisture and insects gather. The goal is to spot existing or possible problems proactively. Avoiding a disease or insect infestation is far easier than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces dot many yards. A close viewing, though, might find signs 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 thwart the fungus from devastating and eventually killing these beautiful trees.

Another possibility – 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 substitutes for Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in Saint Lawrence 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 affects trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t selective, 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 lethal bronze birch borer goes after birches. Linden borers mostly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been a rude initiation for Saint Lawrence homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Saint Lawrence 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 often a matter of 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 gamble with the health of your trees. Contact Dorshak Tree Specialists for a complimentary checkup. Yes, their “tree doctors” still make house calls to Saint Lawrence.