There are several different reasons why the trees, shrubs, or other plants in your yard are browning, stunted, or seem to be dying off. Our certified arborist team can come and help diagnose the underlying issue and provide a solution to ensure your plants are restored back to full health and beauty.
Call us today, and we can talk to you more about what you see and whether or not our team can help keep your plants healthy and strong!
Heat, wind, and lack of water often lead to stress, disease, or death in vulnerable trees.
Rapid evaporation from summer heat and wind can leave trees severely dehydrated and vulnerable.
Yellowing or browning leaves with spots or scorch marks are key indicators of disease or water stress.
A stressed tree is a diseased tree; our certified arborists know the signs and the solutions.
The biggest problem with trees is usually water-related. Harsh summer heat, combined with high winds can quickly evaporate the water from a tree, leaving the leaves wilted, scorched, or worse, dead, and falling. All these environmental conditions can stress a tree, and here at Monkeyman’s, we say a stressed tree is a diseased tree.
A careful examination of your wilting tree is the first step in diagnosing plant health problems. Dead leaves, brown or yellow spots, and strange bumps should all be examined. Thankfully, our ISA-certified Arborists have over 20 years of pest and disease identification.
Below are some common plant diseases and pests that our arborists mitigate on a daily basis:
Plant health care is something we offer to clients throughout the Portland metro area. Many of our customers ask, “Why is my tree dying?”
We can diagnose any plant diseases or pests that may be affecting the health of your trees with the help of an ISA Certified Arborist. In addition, Monkeymans Tree Service arborists will prescribe a plant healthcare program that will help your tree grow and thrive. A service we provide is root spading, which allows us to remove access dirt from trees that are planted too deep. For the trees to grow to their full potential, we can also apply organic fertilizer and compost.
To evaluate the health and safety of your trees, our ISA-Certified Arborist can also conduct a tree risk assessment. Just call us today and we can make sure your trees are happy and healthy.
Our compost tea is brewed in our bioreactor at our shop in Lake Oswego, Oregon using high-quality worm castings, and compost. Compost tea can improve soil structure, water retention, suppress diseases, and enhance plant growth. Our versatile sprayers can cover your whole yard and even apply it as a foliar spray if needed. In Portland Oregon, our clients have seen improvements in their lawns and gardens after we applied our fall and spring applications.
We are one of the only tree companies in the Portland metro area that has compost tea specially curated for your trees and gardens. Our ISA Certified Arborist on staff can help answer any compost tea questions you may have, don’t hesitate to call us today.
Homeowners in Portland trust Monkeyman’s Tree Service for reliable tree care, safe workmanship, and professional service that protects their property.
We follow a simple process to deliver safe, efficient, and professional tree care.
STEP 01
Free estimate
STEP 02
Site inspection
STEP 03
Service recommendation
STEP 04
Safe work
STEP 05
Full cleanup
STEP 06
Final review
Monkeyman’s arborists treat a wide range of tree and plant conditions—from fungal infections to pest infestations.
Why are my leaves turning brown?
It is likely a common fungal disease called anthracnose. This is widespread throughout the Willamette Valley of Oregon, because of our humid and wet springs. Some affected trees include ash, walnut, maple, dogwood, and American sycamore.
Treatment: prune all effected leaves to mitigate next year’s fungal spread.
Those ugly bumps on a tree can be evidence of an insect infestation. They can be balls of eggs laid by mites, or other insects. The good news is that they rarely cause permanent damage, A trained arborist can find a way to mitigate these problems and properly diagnose a treatment plan. Early detection is always the most effective way in mitigating insect pests. Call one of our ISA Certified Arborists today
A problem in wet, humid areas, call an arborist to evaluate the problem, and they’ll most likely prescribe a fungicide to clean up that musty white coating on your tree.
If the mildew stays untreated this can inhibit optimal photosynthesis for the tree. It can also make the tree more stressed which can lead to another disease down the road.
Untreated rust is an annual threat to cereal grains across the world. It is also a dangerous fungus to trees. Rust left untreated will eventually starve a tree to death. The fungus weakens the photosynthetic process in the tree, leaving it weak, with brown spots on the leaves, and ultimately will destroy the entire tree. This fungus requires a specialist, a trained arborist that will prune the already damaged leaves and apply the tree with fungicide.
This is more a descriptive problem than one with a single cause. Insects can create these massed bundles of sticks growing from a single point on a branch, but the disease can create the same deformed pattern in your trees. To fully examine the problem you should seek the advice of a trained arborist to determine the cause and the remedy to the problem.
Why is my tree dripping white sap?
This is a common question our ISA Certified Arborists often get asked in the summertime. This is surprisingly not sap but the excrement from aphids. Also referred to as honeydew can cover tree species such as Linden and tulip poplars are usually the trees most affected.
Fun Fact, the leaves on the linden tree are edible! no wonder the aphids can’t resist eating the aromatic leaves.
From emergency removals to expert pruning, our customers trust Monkeyman’s Tree Service for fast, friendly, and flawless results, every time.
Our Portland arborists provide residential and commercial tree services. Take a look at which Portland tree services our experienced team can help you with us.
FAQ
Not necessarily. Summer browning in this region often traces to drought stress, root damage, compacted soil, or foliar fungal disease, and several of those are correctable. What matters is the pattern — whole-canopy versus one side, tip-inward versus blotchy, upper crown versus lower. An arborist reads that pattern to separate a treatable problem from a failing tree.
Western red cedar dieback has been widely observed across the region, and researchers link it to heat and drought stress on a species adapted to cool, wet conditions — often followed by secondary pests and pathogens on the weakened tree. Consistent deep summer watering and mulch to the dripline is the most useful thing a homeowner can do. We assess whether a given tree is recoverable or is now a hazard.
Our wet winters and dry summers favor root rots including Armillaria and Phytophthora, heart rot in older hardwoods, anthracnose on dogwood, ash, and maple, apple scab, and Verticillium wilt on maple. Several look similar from the ground and need very different responses — which is why diagnosis comes before treatment.
It depends on what’s wrong and how far it’s gone. Foliar disease, nutrient issues, pest infestations, and drought stress are frequently treatable. Advanced root rot and extensive internal decay usually aren’t, because the structural wood is already gone. We’d rather tell you a tree is savable and treat it — we track saved trees alongside removals for exactly that reason.
A certified arborist inspects the canopy, trunk, root flare, and surrounding soil, looks at the site history — recent construction, grade changes, irrigation, nearby trees — and where needed takes soil samples or uses decay detection tools. You get an explanation of what’s happening, what caused it, treatment options with honest odds, and a straight answer if removal is the right call.
Monkeyman’s Tree Service proudly offers expert arborist solutions across Portland and neighboring cities, ensuring safe, healthy, beautiful landscapes.
