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

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 section or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most usual indicator 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 Waukesha County! Educated to recognize 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 evidence 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 interpret the messages of leaf colors!

Preventing 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 Waukesha County.

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

Colorado blue spruces fill many yards. A close viewing, though, might find proof of Rhizosphaera needle cast, a fungus that attacks this non-native species. Brown needles, or piles of needles beneath a tree, are a giveaway. Treatment can block the fungus from decimating and ultimately killing these stunning trees.

Another option – again, long before reaching this point – is planting trees with similar appearance, yet far more resistance to insects and disease. Concolor firs and Norway spruces are substitutes for Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in Waukesha County are susceptible to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Proactive inspection can identify these conditions 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 picky, either – its decay affects trees from a variety of species.

Insect pests pose serious dangers 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 an unwelcome introduction for Waukesha County homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Waukesha County and Wisconsin in recent years.

Another invasive, the spotted lanternfly, is heading 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.

Avoiding 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 seeing a doctor for years on end, don’t gamble with the well-being of your trees. Contact Dorshak Tree Specialists for a complimentary checkup. Yes, their “tree doctors” still make house calls to Waukesha County.