If Your Trees Look Unhealthy, Don’t Wait to Look Up a “Tree Doctor” in Summit Center!

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

Leaf loss, in one section or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most usual sign of a problem. Mushroom growth, usually 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 Summit Center! Educated to identify and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe solutions for problems that afflict Wisconsin trees.

Alterations in leaf color are another red flag. Yellow leaves can be symptomatic of a fertilizer deficiency, often with oaks. However, yellow is the natural color of leaves on a sunburst locust tree. A Certified Arborist knows the difference, and how to read the messages of leaf colors!

Avoiding 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 Summit Center.

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 gather. The goal is to spot ongoing or potential problems proactively. Preventing a disease or insect infestation is far easier than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces fill many yards. A close inspection, 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 symptom. Treatment can thwart the fungus from devastating and ultimately killing these stunning 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 Summit Center are vulnerable 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 block root rot, an ailment that affects trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t choosy, either – its decay affects trees from a multitude 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 mainly target lindens. 

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

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 take in.

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