If Your Trees Look Sick, Don’t Wait to Call a “Tree Doctor” in Stonebank!

Trees, like people and animals, get ill. How do you find 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 common indicator 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 Stonebank! Educated to identify and diagnose diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe remedies for ailments that affect Wisconsin trees.

Changes in leaf color are another red flag. Yellow leaves can be evidence 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 interpret the messages of leaf colors!

Preventing problems is the most effective 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 Stonebank.

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

Colorado blue spruces dot many yards. A close look, 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 block the fungus from devastating 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 substitutes for Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in Stonebank are vulnerable to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Proactive inspection can identify these realities 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 choosy, 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 attacks birches. Linden borers mainly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been an unwelcome introduction for Stonebank homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Stonebank and Wisconsin in recent years.

Another invasive, the spotted lanternfly, is moving 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.

Blocking 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 absorb.

Just as you wouldn’t miss seeing a doctor for years on end, don’t risk the well-being of your trees. Contact Dorshak Tree Specialists for a complimentary checkup. Yes, their “tree doctors” still make house calls to Stonebank.