Depending on what you are trying to accomplish for your tree, the best seasons for pruning are winter and summer. We recommend avoiding pruning in the fall.

Prune your trees during the winter to encourage robust new growth in the spring. It is best to wait until the coldest part of the winter has passed before pruning.

Summer pruning can help control the growth of a tree or branch by slowing growth or “dwarfing” the development of a tree or branch. Summer pruning should take place after seasonal growth is complete. Defective limbs or limbs that are weighted down become more apparent after seasonal growth, and can be more easily identified and removed during the summer.

Common local tree-damaging insects and diseases are listed below.

Types of insects

• Ash borer: A type of moth that bears a resemblance to a paper wasp, the ash borer larvae feed on European ash, lilac, privet, and mountain ash trees. The larvae destroy the tree’s phloem, cutting off the supply of nutrients to the roots, which can weaken and potentially kill a tree. The ash borer is a little larger than a wasp, can grow to a length of ¾ to 1½ inches, is amber-colored in addition to black and white, and does not have a stinger.
• Wasps: Tiny wasps can lay eggs on both the leaves and twigs of oak trees than cause gouty oak gall. The disease causes the tree to form woody masses around twigs and branches that vary in size, but average about 2″ in diameter.

Types of tree diseases

• Anthracnose: Anthracnose is a foliar disease that affects shade trees, such as ash, sycamore, dogwood, oak, and maple. The disease appears as tan, black, or brown spots that begin to develop on leaves near the leaf veins. The discoloration then spreads outward from the vein, and the tree may be partially defoliated.
• Rust: Tree rust is a fungus that appears as a colored powder or yellow, orange, or brown hairlike structures on the leaves of a tree. Rust is commonly found on crabapple and hawthorn trees. Leaves may drop in dry summers, and rust can also cause swelling on the twigs to appear.
• Scab: Tree scab is a fungus that manifests as dull black or gray-brown lesions on the surface of tree leaves, buds, or fruits. Scab is commonly found on crabapple and hawthorn trees.
• Tip and Needle Blight: Tip and needle blights are insidious diseases that affect North American conifer trees, such as pine trees. Blights appear as brown needles.
• Nutrient Deficiencies: Pale, yellow leaves and early leaf drop are the result of nutrient deficiencies in oak and birch trees.
• Oak Wilt: Oak wilt is a fungal disease common to oak trees, especially in the red oak group. The disease can quickly spread to other trees through insect vectors and root grafts. Oak wilt manifests in red oak trees a leaves begin to wilt and turn brown/yellow at the top of the tree. A brown streaking may be present in the outer ring of sapwood. In red oak trees, the fungus is extremely fast spreading. In white oak trees, oak wilt moves much slower, with symptoms very similar to oak decline, construction damage, soil compaction, and root rot.
• Rhizosphaera: Rhizosphaera is a fungus that affects spruce trees (mainly Colorado blue spruce and white spruce). It appears as black stomata on the needles, usually occurring from mid to late summer.

The Jackson family services are all fully insured. The danger of using a tree company that is not fully
insured is the risk of the client being held responsible for accident or injury while on the worksite. We highly recommend always using fully insured companies for services or repairs performed at your home or business. We are happy to provide a current certificate of insurance.

The Jackson family’s bucket truck can reach up to 71 feet. Often this is used on hard-to-access projects. We also employ licensed, insured professional crane operators to assist when cranes are needed to
complete a project.