Importance of treating trees

by Bryan Gilles of Arbor Doctor ( 14-Oct-2008 )

So many homeowners have no clue what to do when there tree starts dying.  They usually look to the most common name they can think of when it come to tree care and that is often nurseries.  Nurseries usually just sell trees though and most customers are left dumbfounded when it come to what they should do next.  Even if you can get some help the product you are left with often does not do the job completely or it took so much leg work that you could have just chopped it down and put in a new one for less hassle. Finding quality service is very tough and especially with all of the new diseases that are popping up and spreading throughout the tree species.  Just trying to find your tree on the internet alone can be a maze of mystery.  Like for instance if you know the latin name for your tree you would have better luck finding it then if you know its american name.  But does the average person know how to count to 3 in latin?  I would guess probably no. So what should you know about your tree before you make a decision to either buy a nice new one or take care of your mature one that might look sick.  I would suggest to find a professional arborist.  But where can you find one of those and what if you don't have the time for all of that? The fact is that many of the diseases trees get are very fatal.  You can easily watch your tree go from being nice and green one month to leafless the next month.  To my amazement most homeowners have no idea that they can save a tree.  Many people are under the assumption that once a tree gets a disease it is dead and there is no coming back.  The fact is that you can treat tree with chemicals and bring them back from what looks like immediate death.  Just like a doctor gives you a shot or a person gets chemo to subside cancer there is a chemical that treats every known disease.  Even Dutch Elm Disease or Emerald Ash Borer can be treated affetively.  The assumption that you cant save anything comes from what you see.  When a tree gets dutch elm disease the city makes it with spray paint.  It has to be removed at this point.  If the homeowner only knew they could easily save that tree from the fungus that is killing it I wonder how many people would second-guess removing there tree?