5 Signs Your Tree’s Health May Be At Risk

Your trees bring you lots of enjoyment. They provide beauty, shade, character and value to your home and landscape. Just as your trees provide you with peace and serenity, you owe it to your trees to look out for their health and wellness.

Keeping an eye out for early warning signs of stress or changes in your tree can help prevent serious illness in your trees or early death, according to Ned Patchett Consulting.

Just as your health and stress levels are impacted by things happening around you, trees are susceptible to climate, potential infestations, bark damage construction impacts and more. Knowing what to look for and who to call are essential. Early diagnosis will help a tree get the needed treatment to live a long healthy life.

Ned Patchett shares these 5 potential warning signs of tree stress.

  1. Tress with no leaves, early leaf drop or leaves that are wilting. This is one of the most common ways to know that your tree is stressed. And there’s no one answer for the cause. When a tree is stressed, a common sign is wilting. Leaves will begin to droop. This can be caused by a lack of watering or maybe overwatering; too much or too little sun; overfertilization; diseases; herbicide damage and more.
  2. An early indicator of poor tree health is the leaves. Newly planted trees with wilting, yellow or brown leaves, or leaves changing color too early should be treated. The leaves should be the right color for the season. If the leaves of the tree are yellow – and they’re not supposed to be yellow – be particularly concerned. This can be a sign of nutrient deficiency which can be treated.
  3. Injured branches or limbs after a storm – dead or broken branches should be pruned immediately. Left unchecked, it’s an easy way for insects and diseases to enter the tree. An easy way to test for dead branches is to scrape the branch with a fingernail. It the tree is alive, it will show green underneath. Branches can also be tested by gently bending them. If it snaps, the branch is dead.
  4. Splits or cracks in your tree – this can be caused by damage from high winds in storms, branches that have become over-extended or too heavy, mechanical damage from hitting the tree trunk or can be a sign that your tree is dying.
  5. Mushroom or fungi growing at the base of a tree or on the trunk is usually a bad sign. It can mean the roots or trunk of the tree is rotting.

To reduce the risk, Ned Patchett Consulting suggests tree owners take these four preventive measures:

  • Consult an arborist to identify if you think you have tree health risks.
  • Hire an arborist who can perform quality pruning which avoids flush cuts, excessive thinning and Lion’s-tailing.
  • Practice timely tree health care including fertilization and insect, disease prevention and control.
  • Appropriate watering practices.

Are you looking for an innovative tree service and landscape design and maintenance company that will uniquely and passionately create and care for your trees and yard like they were their own?

Let the experienced professionals at Ned Patchett Consulting deliver for you. Connect with us at info@nedpatchettconsulting.com or 650-728-8308

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By |2020-01-20T21:23:47+00:00March 13th, 2019|Ned Patchett Consulting|