A 'Tree Disease' is defined as any abnormal condition of a plant that impairs plant functions, associated with specific symptoms and signs. Diseases in trees are often often caused by fungi, but other organisms such as nematodes, bacterias, and viruses are also able to cause diseases in trees.

In a natural setting, diseases play an important role in ecosystem health and most forests could not survive without them. In the urban setting, where we are often dealing with individual trees rather than entire populations, diseases can and, in many cases, should be treated or prevented to ensure the health of our urban forests.

Some diseases can only infect a tree that is weakened from other factors such as environmental conditions or an insect infestation. Other diseases can affect a tree regardless of its health condition. It is important to know what tree species you are dealing with and which diseases it is suceptible to know your best treatment options.

Many tree diseases cannot be treated once a tree is infected. Thus, these diseases must be treated preventively to ensure the tree does not succumb to the disease. Other diseases cannot be cured but management stategies can be aimed at reducing symptoms and prolonging the life of the tree.

Take a look at the links to left, organized by disease type.  They will give you some background infomation on lifecycle and management strategy for each problem. If you have further questions on the biology or on how to market these services to clients, be sure to give one of our Tree Health Care Specialists a call at 1-877-272-6747.