PLANT HEALTH CARE

Tree disease is just a fact of life. The good news is, there are ways to manage and mitigate disease and extend the life of your trees, reduce risk factors, and identify causes of stress for your trees.

Plant Health Care is a holistic approach that strives to identify the best choices for the health of trees and plants within a landscape, while at the same time accommodating the desires of the homeowner or property manager.

Plant Health Care, according to the International Society of Arboriculture, also seeks to identify contributing factors that may be causing a tree to decline -- more often than not, when a tree dies or declines, it is not simply a case of identifying an insect or disease.

Insects or disease are often secondary, attacking trees that are already weakened by other factors.

How do I identify a stressed tree?

• Tip die-back, gaps, discoloration of the crown

• Decay (open wounds, fruiting bodies/mushrooms at the base of a tree, Carpenter ants)

• Wilting or leaf scorch

Why do trees become diseased?

Tree disease can be spread through a variety of ways, including: 

• Through spores/bacteria traveling through wind/water -- even humidity affecting leaves and entering the tree

• Wounds in the tree

• Issues in the soil (Nutrient or pH deficiencies, Water mold -- often caused by poor drainage 

• Insects

What makes a tree susceptible to disease?

A tree is more susceptible to disease when it is stressed by factors such as:

• Poor drainage

• Over/underwatering

• Lack of mulch at proper depth

• Competition with other plants

• Nutrient and/or ph deficiencies

• Extreme heat/cold

• New construction that causes root damage