If Your Trees Look Ill, Don’t Wait to Contact a “Tree Doctor” in Pewaukee!

Trees, like people and animals, get ill. 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 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 top bet for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Pewaukee! Trained to identify and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe treatments for ailments that affect Wisconsin trees.

Alterations in leaf color are another symptom. Yellow leaves can be evidence 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!

Preventing 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 Pewaukee.

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 existing or potential problems early. Preventing a disease or insect infestation is much simpler than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces fill many yards. A close inspection, 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 halt the fungus from devastating and eventually killing these beautiful 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 substitutes for Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in Pewaukee are susceptible to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Pre-emptive inspection can identify these conditions 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 picky, either – its decay affects trees from a wide range 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 attacks birches. Linden borers mainly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been a rude introduction for Pewaukee homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Pewaukee 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.

Avoiding 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 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 Pewaukee.