Arborist

[Jesse]

Can anyone recommend a good Arborist? One of our trees seems to have some kind of sooty mold growing on it, and we'd like to get a professional opinion

Any names/numbers of folks you've had good experiences with would be appreciated. Thanks

[poyea]

We've used Kris Bitner in the past. Seems to be very knowledgable. She did some work on one of our trees a couple months ago, so the jury is still out.

[s3mh]

The sooty black mold is a fungus that grows on the droppings of bugs like aphids and other small garden pests. If you get rid of the bugs, you will get rid of the sooty black mold. The sooty black mold can be removed from the leaves with a soapy spray and a lot of rinsing with water. The mold doesn't damage the leaves. You can scrape it off by hand. Of course, if the leaves are deciduous, you can just let them fall and try to spray for the bugs next year. I think the wet summer made it very buggy. I have seen a lot of trees, especially crepe myrtles, in the Heights with the black sooty mold. You might be able to get a cheaper solution by going to the garden store and asking about pesticides rather than paying an arborist to come out. But, if the tree looks like it is in bad shape because the mold is so bad that it has blocked the sun from reaching the leaves, then it might be a good to have an arborist give it a check.

[fwki]

Shake the branches and see if you see the white aphids buzzing around....also concur taking some leaves to a nursery or garden center and ask.....if you are really crazy (or have kids or both) you can buy a bunch of lady bugs and set them loose for aphid control.