Dear Green Industry Leader,

We thank you in advance for taking a moment out of your busy summer to allow us to update you about what’s new in treatment options for Dutch elm disease.

As you may know, Rainbow Treecare has fought the battle against Dutch elm disease for the past two decades. We have employed many new techniques. We hopefully and patiently watched new chemicals arrive on the scene which promised greater efficacy. Over the years, five hundred proposed cures for Dutch elm disease have been offered.

The chemical we have used, Thiabendizole Hypophosphite, trade named Arbotect has a proven record of accomplishment. We have treated over 20,000 elms with this chemical and have less than ½ of 1-percent loss over three years (with 90% of the losses occurring late in the third season after treatment). Many of these losses are due to root graft infection, which no injection process protects against.

The chemical Propiconizole, trade named Alamo, is the newest alternative material to Thiabendizole Hypophosphite. Using various dosages we have seen Propiconizole stop Dutch elm disease, but not for long. As a result we decided to discontinue Alamo as a treatment option for the control of Dutch elm disease. The single most important factor affecting our decision -- we have not seen it provide three growing seasons of protection.

We remain confident that Thiabendizole Hypophosphite is the best treatment for three seasons of Dutch elm disease control. We provide a money back refund if the elm dies from Dutch elm disease within three growing seasons after treatment regardless of how it was infected.

We greatly appreciate your past and continued good will. We look forward to an opportunity to discuss any questions you may have regarding this or other urban forest topics.

Sincerely,

Rainbow’s Consulting Arborist Staff