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Did You Know?

Evergreen trees planted as wind breaks on the northwest side of a building can reduce heating costs 10% to 40%.

Tree and Shrub General Disease Control Prescriptions

• If something doesn't look right with your trees or shrubs, call us for a no-charge analysis and diagnosis.
  

• Over grown plants can be more susceptible to disease infestation. For deciduous trees, we generally recommend that we prune the center of the trees' crown to allow for better air circulation to reduce disease grown. We may suggest to thin out over crowded plants for the same reasons.
  

     When you get sick, you go to your doctor, who in turn diagnoses your illness, prescribes some medicine, and often tells you to make some changes in what you do during your daily routine to encourage healing and to reduce the potential of catching more of the same, or even another illness during your weakened state. Believe it or not, Disease Control for your trees and shrubs is very similar.

     There are many times when we find ourselves donning our "plant doctor" hat when we get a call from one of our customers to diagnose why one of their trees or shrubs is looking "sick". Our procedures are very similar to what your doctor my go through with you - we diagnose what particular disease is affecting the plant, we may prescribe some disease control treatments to arrest existing disease infestations, and finally we may suggest some specific measures be done to minimize the potential for future outbreaks.

     Many of you may have a medical encyclopedia at home, and I would bet that book is a rather large one, due to all the different viruses, diseases, and other illnesses that can affect the human body. Likewise, the "encyclopedia" for plant diseases is also a large one. Different plants are susceptible to different diseases. Some diseases affect only one variety of host plant, while other diseases aren't that choosy and will inflict their carnage on many different types of plants. What complicates disease care in plants even more, is the effect weather has on disease spore growth. Varying temperature, moisture and humidity conditions can dictate whether a group of dormant disease spores simply remain dormant with no effect on their target host plants, or whether those spores erupt into a full blown epidemic causing widespread damage to our valuable plants. Some years, we are faced with a handful of particular diseases affecting certain trees, and then again in subsequent years - those same plants may be as healthy as can be. Another example of Mother Nature's complexity.

     That being said, we simply cannot even attempt to list all of the most common tree and shrub diseases that may affect our plants here in the greater Toronto area. Instead, what we will offer here are some general disease control procedures that we may prescribe for many infestations.

• Disease spores can remain dormant on dead leaves or fallen needles, only to "awaken" when suitable temperature and moisture conditions return, either in the current year, or even next year. It is highly recommended to rake up and dispose of any fallen foliage adjacent to affected trees.
  

• Weak or unhealthy plants are also more susceptible to disease infestation. This is part of Mother Nature's plan to allow only the strongest to survive. It is recommended to fertilize your plants by deep root injection from time to time to give your valuable plants the nutrients they require to maintain strong, healthy growth. Furthermore, adequate watering throughout the growing season can also be a critical factor in healthy plant growth. Often, the damaging effects of inadequate watering may not reveal themselves until real damage has set in.
  

• Spray treatments can be effective to control diseases on many trees and shrubs. The best control will be obtained when a spray program is established to treat the plants at the right time of the year before that particular disease is expected to be active. This can prove to be difficult at times, since Mother Nature doesn't always follow a set timing schedule on weather conditions.
  

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Disease Control in trees and shrubs can prove to be tricky and difficult at the best of times. Our prescriptions will always include procedures that can be done to minimize the conditions that favour disease growth, and if necessary, a treatment program to reduce the damaging effects that particular disease may cause.

The first step is a proper diagnosis - Call us today for a no charge Tree and Shrub Disease Analysis to begin protecting your valuable plants!