If Your Trees Look Ill, Don’t Wait to Look For a “Tree Doctor” in Camp Whitcomb!

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

Leaf loss, in one area or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most common 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 choice for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Camp Whitcomb! Trained to identify and diagnose diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe solutions for ailments that affect Wisconsin trees.

Changes in leaf color are another symptom. Yellow leaves can be reflective of a fertilizer deficiency, 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 read 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 Camp Whitcomb.

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

Colorado blue spruces occupy many yards. A close look, though, might discover signs 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 eventually killing these lovely trees.

Another option – 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 alternatives to Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in Camp Whitcomb 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 wide range 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 attacks birches. Linden borers mostly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been a rude initiation for Camp Whitcomb homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Camp Whitcomb 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 harm, 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 Camp Whitcomb.