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

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 section or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most typical sign 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 best bet for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Mapleton! Educated to spot and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe solutions for ailments that affect Wisconsin trees.

Alterations in leaf color are another red flag. Yellow leaves can be reflective of a fertilizer shortage, often with oaks. Yet, yellow is the normal color of leaves on a sunburst locust tree. A Certified Arborist understands the difference, and how to translate the messages of leaf colors!

Averting 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 Mapleton.

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

Colorado blue spruces fill 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 giveaway. 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 far more resistance to insects and disease. Concolor firs and Norway spruces are substitutes for Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in Mapleton 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, a condition 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 deadly bronze birch borer goes after birches. Linden borers mainly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been a rude initiation for Mapleton homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Mapleton 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 skip 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 Mapleton.