Something’s wrong with your tree. Find out what.
A diagnostic assessment identifies what is actually happening — disease, pests, root damage, soil problems, or decline — before anyone sells you a treatment or a removal.
Most tree problems get treated before they get diagnosed. A tree looks thin, someone recommends deep-root fertilization; leaves brown at the edges, someone recommends a spray; a company sees dieback and recommends removal. Sometimes those calls are right. Often they treat a symptom while the actual cause — compacted soil, girdling roots, vascular disease, construction damage from three years ago — keeps working on the tree.
A diagnostic assessment starts from the other end: examine the tree, the root zone, and the site; identify the cause; then decide whether treatment is warranted at all. As an independent consulting arborist in the Kansas City area, I have no treatments to sell and no crew to keep busy, so the diagnosis is the product — not a pitch.
When you need a diagnosis
Your tree is declining and you don’t know why: unusual leaf drop, yellowing or browning out of season, thinning canopy, branch dieback, fungal growth, oozing bark, or visible pest damage. Construction, grading, or trenching happened near the tree in the past few years. A treatment program you’re paying for doesn’t seem to be working. Or several trees on the property are declining at once, which usually points to a site or soil problem rather than a tree problem.
The earlier a real diagnosis happens, the more options you have. Many of the region’s serious problems — including oak decline complexes and pest infestations — are manageable when caught early and expensive when caught late.
What you get
A written diagnostic report: what is wrong, how serious it is, what caused it, and a specific management plan — which may be treatment, cultural changes like mulching and irrigation adjustments, monitoring, or in some cases the honest answer that nothing needs to be done. If laboratory confirmation is needed for a disease or pest, I handle the sampling and submission.
Because I don’t perform treatments, the recommendation is unbiased. If work is warranted, the report gives you exactly what to ask a qualified tree service for — written to their standards, so you get the right work at a fair price.
How it works
A site visit to examine the tree and its environment — crown, trunk, root flare, soil, and site history. Laboratory submission if the diagnosis needs confirmation. A written report with photos, findings, and a prioritized management plan, plus follow-up guidance if you implement treatment.
Questions I hear a lot.
Why is my tree dying?
The honest answer is that it takes an examination to say. Decline usually traces to one of a few categories: root and soil problems (compaction, grade changes, girdling roots, construction damage), vascular disease, pest pressure, water stress, or several of these stacked together. The visible symptom — thinning, dieback, early color — narrows the possibilities, but the cause is usually at or below ground level, not in the branches.
Can’t a regular tree service diagnose my tree?
Some employ excellent arborists. The structural issue is the business model: a company that sells removals, pruning, and spray programs is diagnosing with a treatment list in hand. An independent diagnosis has no such list. When companies disagree, or the recommended fix is expensive, an independent assessment is a cheap way to make sure the diagnosis is right before the money is spent.
Is it worth diagnosing, or should the tree just come out?
For a small, low-value tree, removal and replacement is sometimes the economical answer, and I will say so. For mature shade trees — which regularly appraise in the tens of thousands of dollars — diagnosis is almost always worth it. Removal is the one decision that cannot be undone.
What tree diseases are common in the Kansas City area?
The region sees a steady set of problems: oak wilt and other oak decline issues, emerald ash borer in ash trees, bacterial leaf scorch, pine wilt in pines, various cankers and root rots, and chronic stress from compacted clay soils and construction. Which of these — if any — is affecting your tree is exactly what a diagnostic visit determines.
What does a diagnostic assessment cost?
Fees are flat and quoted up front based on the scope. Laboratory fees, when needed, are passed through at cost. The initial conversation is free, and if your situation doesn’t need a formal assessment I’ll tell you so.
Tell me about your situation.
Every assignment starts with a short conversation. Describe what's going on, and I'll tell you honestly whether you need this service, something simpler, or nothing at all.