We often discuss the insects that are common pests here in the Kansas City area on the Cartwright Tree Care blog. It’s important to know about these insects, as they can cause damage to your trees. Today we are going to talk about one of the plant sucking insects that are common in our area – aphids.

Have you noticed browning leaves in the canopies of mature trees in your lawn or around the Kansas City area lately? If so you might think the leaves are browning due to a lack of adequate hydration, but a closer look could reveal those leaves covered in webs, which are fall webworms.

Sycamore Anthracnose is another tree disease that’s common here in the Kansas City area. This is a tree disease that attacks sycamore trees. The disease is caused by a fungus called Apiognomia veneta, which typically flourishes during cool, wet spring weather, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Iron chlorosis is a tree disease that is quite common here in the Kansas City area. It causes the leaves of a tree to yellow due to an iron deficiency. Usually the main symptom of this iron deficiency is interveinal chlorosis, which is defined by Utah State University’s Forestry Extension as “the development of a yellow leaf with a network of dark green veins.”

Many homeowners include a fruit tree of some kind in their yard, such as apple or pear trees. Just like any other tree in your yard, a fruit tree requires proper care and maintenance in order to stay healthy, but also in order to produce the fruit that we enjoy to eat. It is especially important to take good care of these trees in the summer, as summer care helps fruit trees produce a great yield.

We talk a lot about ways to keep your trees healthy here on our blog, and making sure your trees have all that they need to grow is a part of keeping them healthy and looking great. If you’re not sure what your trees need to grow to their full potential, keep reading because today we’re going to share with you some of the important elements your trees need for proper growth, courtesy of the Missouri Department of Conservation.

There are many reasons a home or business owner might want to invest in tree growth regulators. Tree growth regulators can be beneficial to you if you have a tree that’s growing too close to your home or business, a tree that is at a height that is perfect for your landscape, or a tree that’s recently been planted, just to name a few.

You may recall that we discussed the topic of pine wilt about a month ago. Pine wilt is a tree disease that is caused by parasitic organisms called nematodes, which feed off of living plant cells and can clog the resin canals of a tree, causing it to wilt and eventually die.

We offer tree preservation and consulting here at Cartwright Tree Care, but that leads to an important question - Why should you care about preserving trees on your property? What kind of benefits do they offer you? They are great questions and the answers to them will hopefully help you understand why you need to be concerned about preserving the health of your trees.