If Your Trees Look Sick, Don’t Wait to Contact a “Tree Doctor” in Milwaukee County!

Trees, like people and animals, get ill. How do you locate 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 symptom of a problem. Mushroom growth, typically 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 Milwaukee County! Trained to recognize 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 symptomatic of a fertilizer deficiency, often with oaks. However, yellow is the natural 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 sound 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 Milwaukee County.

What are they hunting for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another area of note is crevices or cavities in trees, where moisture and insects gather. The goal is to identify ongoing or potential problems early. Preventing a disease or insect infestation is far easier than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces dot many yards. A close inspection, though, might find evidence 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 halt the fungus from devastating and eventually killing these stunning trees.

Another possibility – 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 Milwaukee County 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 block root rot, a condition that afflicts trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t selective, either – its decay affects trees from a multitude 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 attacks birches. Linden borers mainly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been an unwelcome initiation for Milwaukee County homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Milwaukee County 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.

Avoiding insect damage, once again, is about 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 health of your trees. Contact Dorshak Tree Specialists for a complimentary checkup. Yes, their “tree doctors” still make house calls to Milwaukee County.