seattle

Arbor-wellness: Cherry Bark Tortrix

What is the Cherry Bark Tortrix?

The cherry bark tortrix, is an introduced caterpillar pest in western Washington  and from British Columbia south to parts of Oregon coastal areas. It is found mostly on cherry, plum, and apple; but may also be found on peach, crabapple, pear, hawthorn, mountain ash and quince.

Why do I need to worry about it?

It is a growing problem in our area. It can kill trees outright through girdling the trunk. Typically, though, heavy infestations around the graft lead to dieback above the graft. The stress associated with an infestation can leave trees susceptible to secondary disease and insect problems.

How does it spread?

Cherry Bark Tortrix is a smaller moth, whose caterpillar stage does the damage inside the lower tree trunk. They overwinter in the trunk and emerge in the mid-late spring time frame. The adults lay eggs in cracks and wounds in the bark area in late summer. Large populations will kill the trees as they girdle around the tree. Initial infections will stress the tree and often cause a gummosis that exudes from the bark.

What is the best way to treat it?

Protection from these late summer infections is usually the best proactive treatment, but spring systemic treatments are also effective and should be considered if you are concerned about this pest. Your Arborwell Arborist can insect your trees and determine a treatment plan. Typically they include a treatment to suppress any existing problem, then an annual proactive treatment to prevent further infestations. Proper tree health is also important, so they may recommend nutritional feeding and corrective pruning if needed.

If you are concerned about cherry bark tortrix, or other problems on your trees, contact your Arborwell arborist to help you create the most effective management plan for them.

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Tips for Spring Tree Care in Seattle

Spring is here in the Seattle area and Arborwell Professional Tree Management has plenty of tips for keeping your trees in top condition. Our tree experts know that the burst of springtime growth combined with winter damage can leave a tree vulnerable to disease and pests. Our tree experts have the knowledge and expertise to help your trees recover and flourish in springtime.

We want your trees to be in peak health during the growing season. Our arborists can asses the needs of your trees and offer their professional opinion and services to keep your trees healthy. Here are some tips for spring tree care:

  1. Repair damaged trees. At Arborwell our ISA Certified Arborists have experience nursing damaged trees back to full health. Trees take a beating over the winter from storms and the dead and dying branches need to be cleared. Weakened areas should be removed before they have a chance to become diseased. Our arborists will prune these areas to make way for new growth.
  • Tree Removal. In some cases, a tree may need to be removed. Our tree experts will do everything they can to save your tree, but sometimes the damage is too extensive. Once the tree becomes a safety hazard it will have to be removed. Arborwell provides tree removal services to quickly and efficiently remove these hazards.
  • Pest and disease avoidance. Trees are weakened during the winter and can be vulnerable in spring to infestations and disease. Pay close attention to the health of your tree to avoid pests, fungal growth and disease. Our arborists have the knowledge to identify these problems and the tools to prevent future issues.
  • Tree trimming. To keep your trees growing happily and healthily its important to prune dead and dying branches. This will allow for more sunlight to reach your tree and help it grow unhindered by the extra weight of dead branches. Trimming is also important in maintaining tree shape and keeping it away from electrical lines.

Arborwell can help you manage your trees

If you want the best in tree care services in the Seattle area, consider Arborwell Professional Tree Management. These tips for spring tree care in Seattle are only part of the knowledge our tree experts can provide for you. Call us at or click here to request one of our ISA Certified Arborists to complete an assessment and report of your trees.

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Tree Care Services in a drought

Changing Seattle Weather is Affecting its Trees

Weather in the Seattle area plays a crucial role in the health of its trees and as it continues to grow warmer it is negatively affecting the tree population. Over the past few years climate change has begun to drastically change weather patterns that have been around for hundreds of years. Our experts at Arborwell can help you understand how these weather fluctuations are affecting your trees.

Weather in the Seattle area is trending towards hotter, drier, and longer summers, while the winters are becoming warmer and wetter. These conditions are unfavorable to many of the trees that grow in the Seattle area, leading to new problems regarding tree health.

Hot and Dry Summers

The biggest concern of hotter summers is the worsening drought conditions. The Seattle area is accustomed to experiencing some summer drought, but over the past few summers the droughts have become longer and drier. There isn’t enough rainfall to properly sustain the trees and many are sick or dying because of it.

Young trees are especially at risk. They have shorter roots and can’t reach as far into the ground as mature trees to soak up water. Our arborists have plenty of tips and tricks to help your trees survive drought conditions.

Warm and Wet Winters

Winters in the Seattle area have become wetter over recent years. While the increase in rainfall may seem beneficial, what the trees really need is snowfall. That snow becomes lifesaving snowmelt in the summer, helping to keep trees nourished when rainfall is scarce. The decrease in snowmelt over the past few years has exasperated drought conditions in the summer.

Insect populations have also been flourishing as the warm winters allow more to survive. Many pest populations that otherwise would have died off are surviving the winter and attacking already weakened or dying trees, sapping them of the nutrients they need to survive. Winters are also seeing more severe storms. These rough storms are causing excessive damage to already crippled trees. All these factors are culminating in creating poor conditions for trees in the Seattle area.

Our Tree Experts Know How to Help

These new weather conditions in the Seattle area are significantly affecting its trees and are creating a need for different strategies for tree care. Arborwell Professional Tree Management has ISA-certified arborists who can create a plan to keep your trees healthy and looking their best, no matter the weather. Call today or click here to make an appointment with an arborist in the Seattle area.

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