Making the cut: Tree service buzzing with business

Growing up, DaRin Ryan loved to play in trees, climbing their limbs and inspecting leaves. Now he's a certified arborist and known as the "tree doctor."

Just by looking at a tree from across the street, Ryan can diagnose a tree, immediately able to tell if it has too much mulch or needs to be pruned, watered or removed. He can tell an oak from a maple at a glance, predict how tall the tree will be in maturity and can tell whether a tree has an iron deficiency.

Ryan is the owner of D. Ryan Tree and Landscaping, which has offices in DeKalb and Wheaton. If you have seen D. Ryan trucks along your street, you’re not alone. Ryan said he has been busy during the past month.

On average, the company uses 40 to 42 pieces of equipment a day and removes 200 to 300 trees a week and more than 1,000 trees a month. The company also prunes countless trees, trimming their branches and removing deadwood.

When Karl Burnitz of Sycamore saw that his 11-year-old ash tree was losing leaves, he called Ryan to help figure out what was happening with his tree.

“I suspected that the tree was dying because it was losing leaves before it should have been,” Burnitz said. “We planted it for additional shading, but with almost all the leaves gone, it provided no shade.”

When looking at the tree’s trunk, Ryan saw that the bark was splitting and that there were D-shaped holes covering the tree. Ryan knew immediately that the tree was victim to the emerald ash borer.

The emerald ash borer is a small, metallic green beetle native to eastern Asia that feeds on ash trees. Since it was discovered near Detroit in 2002, tens of millions of ash trees have died.

“Bugs attack the tree and plant larvae,” Ryan said. “As the larvae grow and expand, they eat the tree trunk and the tree rots from the inside out. As they leave the tree, they make a D-shaped exit hole. ... In the 1960s and 70s, Dutch elm disease, caused by fungus, took out a lot of elm trees. Now the emerald ash borer is taking out ash trees.”

Candice Miller, University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator, said maple trees are now showing signs of maple tar spot and other signs of decline, likely due to borer damage or other environmental conditions. Oak trees also can have borer damage and other diseases, including oak wilt or bur oak blight.

“Overall, trees still have issues from the drought of 2012,” Miller said. “Drought really stressed the trees, which opens up to other issues like borers and fungal pathogens.”

Miller said the decision of saving or removing a tree depends on the progression of the disease. Insecticide treatments are available for newly infested trees, but treatment can be expensive. Some infestations are untreatable.

“If more than half the canopy of leaves is dead, it’s too late,” she said. “If the tree is in its initial stages, it might be worth treating, but sometimes, it’s better to replace the tree.”

Both Ryan and Miller suggest replacing trees that are removed with ones that are hearty, resilient and native to Illinois, such as hackberry, maple, buckeye and chestnut trees. Miller stressed that communities need to plant a diverse grouping of tree types.

When planting new trees, Ryan recommends the autumn blaze maple, state street maple, swamp white oak, chanticleer pear, aristocrat pear, serviceberry and crabapple trees.

Both fall and spring are good times to plant new trees. Summer’s heat and winter’s cold may too strong for newly planted trees. Miller said the best practice is to keep the tree as healthy and vigorous as possible through proper watering and fertilizing. She said homeowners should seek the advice of a certified arborist before removing a tree from their property.

“Always insist to be added on as an additional insurer, not just have a company show their insurance,” Ryan said. “Make sure the company is fully bonded. ... Cheaper is not always better, and safety should always be put first. About 65 percent of deaths a year that occur in the tree industry are homeowner accidents. Always trust the expertise of an arborist.”