|
Sick Trees? Tree Doctoring Has
Its Limits
Get a Second Informed Opinion
Publication by Dr. Ed Barnard
Forest Pathologist & Supervisor, Forest Health Program
Florida Division of Forestry
Sick, declining, dying trees! Not what
most folks want in their yard. Trees are valuable for shade,
beauty, historic purposes and real estate value. Few people want
their trees to die, and many will do anything to save their trees.
There's the catch - all too often unknowledgeable and/or
unscrupulous 'tree experts' capitalize on their customers' love of
trees to sell tree treatments that in many cases simply don't work
or are unnecessary in the first place.
Tree Experts
Services marketed variously by firms identifying themselves, as
Landscapers; Arborists; Tree Surgeons; Landscape, Arboricultural
or Horticultural Consultant; or to the point, 'Tree Experts' have
expanded dramatically in Florida in recent years. Such service
providers have for some time enjoyed a boom market bolstered by a
strong economy and growing public interest in things green and
environmental.
Many Florida homeowners have benefited from services provided by
well-trained, honest and competent professionals. Unfortunately,
however, the 'tree expert' business, not unlike other rapidly
expanding lucrative, and perhaps under-regulated service oriented
enterprises, is subject to a spectrum of 'expertise,'
entrepreneurial zeal (if not greed), and professional ethics.
On occasion, consumers get the short end of a deal, and are taken
for a proverbial ride by market-wise and market-driven vendors
whose expertise (limited or extensive) is often overly influenced
by opportunity. In other cases, consumers are simply short-changed
by purchasing services from 'experts' that simply lack the
technical expertise they presume to sell. Be careful, and get a
second opinion.
Tree Experts: How do you know they're experts?
Credentials: What is your 'expert' marketing? Does he/she possess
the educational background and/or experience to back up his/her
product(s) and services? Is he/she licensed, certified, etc.....by
whom? How does he/she guarantee his/ her work?
Diagnosis: Does your 'expert' have professional education in the
fields of tree physiology, pathology, entomology, or ecology, to
support his/her diagnosis of a problem?
Prognosis: Many tree problems are not really problems. They will
often go away on their own, without treatment. Other problems are
for real and often fatal, or at least untreatable. Does your
'expert' know and communicate the differences?
Treatment: Many tree problems require 'treatment' and treated
trees often respond favorable. Other tree problems do not require
treatment. For other tree problems, effective, proven, and legal
treatments simply do not exist. Does your 'expert' have the
education, training, and/or experience to know and communicate the
difference? Remember, if he/she sells you a 'treatment' he/she
makes money.
Rx: Tree Injection
Tree injections of one sort or another have been utilized for
decades to introduce insecticides, mineral nutrients, fungicides,
and antibiotics into the vascular systems of trees for prevention
or control of a variety of maladies. However, the efficacy of tree
injections is variable, and in most cases certainly not fool
proof.
First of all, for tree injections to work, many factors need to be
in place. To begin with, the ailing tree(s) must be alive. No joke
- some folks have been sold injections for dead trees! Also, the
treated tree(s) must be sufficiently vigorous to take up the
injected 'medicine' and distribute same through its vascular
system to where it is needed, in the correct chemical form(s) and
quantity(ies) to be effective. This is a tall order!
Second, effective tree injection requires accurate diagnosis of
the problem in the first place. If the diagnosis is wrong, the
treatment will be also. Further, most trees normally recover from
inconsequential, seasonal, or passing ailments without tree
injection or any other treatment.
Others decline and die, even if they are injected. Sadly, many
tree injection entrepreneurs lack the education and experience
necessary to make accurate diagnoses and prognoses. Sometimes
'tree experts' are clueless; but treatment means sale, and sale
means money - your money!
Third, tree injections must be administered at the proper time and
in a proper manner. For example, injections are often ineffective
if administered during the wrong time of the year. For certain
tree diseases, injections may provide protection or prevention,
but only if applied before the disease is actually contracted or
in the very early stages of disease development. Some insecticides
(and fungicides) are completely useless if injected after the
damage or symptoms is/are visible.
Fourth, depending upon the nature of the problem being treated,
single injections may not be sufficient, and rarely are tree
injections particularly effective as disease therapy. Once a tree
has reached a certain threshold of disease of decline, tree
injections (and other treatments) are often of little or no value.
Lastly, it bears repeating that some tree conditions (e.g.,
disease, insect infestations, physiological abnormalities) do not
warrant treatment of any kind. They are natural, short-lived, and
of little consequence to otherwise healthy trees. It is also wise
to remember that tree injections, by their very nature, puncture
the bark and create wounds in treated trees. Tree injection
promoters and sales personnel often downplay this injury, but in
certain situations it can be problematic.
1 Reprinted from Division of Forestry (DOF) brochure prepared by
Ed Barnard, Ph.D., Forest Pathologist & Supervisor, Forest Health
Program. Other DOF publications can be obtained from the DOF
website at www.fl-dof.com.
|
