Tree health diagnosis. Figure out what's wrong, fix what can be fixed.

Depends on the beetle and the stage. Early-stage invasive shot-hole borer in willow, sycamore, or box elder can sometimes be managed with systemic injection and cultural changes. Advanced ISHB with extensive galleries is usually terminal. Gold-spotted oak borer in mature oaks is harder, by the time symptoms show, damage is often too advanced. Early diagnosis is everything.

Not necessarily. San Diego trees often show heat and drought stress in late summer — curled leaves, yellowing, early drop. Deep watering and mulching usually turn it around. Real trouble looks different: branch dieback from the tips, canopy thinning, bark slipping. A short site visit tells you which category you're in.

Injecting a slow-release fertilizer and micronutrients 8 to 12 inches into the root zone under pressure. Unlike surface fertilizers, it reaches the active feeder roots and breaks up soil compaction in the process. Useful for declining urban trees, post-construction stress, and mature oaks in compacted lawns. Not a miracle cure, but a real tool.

Yes, and we'll tell you. If the root system is gone, the heartwood is hollow past the safety threshold, or the beetle damage is advanced, treatment money is wasted. The honest answer sometimes is 'remove and replant.' We'd rather lose a treatment sale than put you on a 3-year fertilization plan for a tree that's coming down in 18 months.