When property owners are searching for “Sick Tree Symptoms” or “Dying Tree Symptoms” there’s clearly something wrong with a tree on their commercial or residential property. Trees are great additions to our landscapes but when sick pose serious risks to property damage or potential injuries. Use the information in this post to judge whether your tree is sick, or already dying.
Sick Tree Symptoms
Sick trees in your landscape are more than ugly or unsightly. They can be downright dangerous. If a limb cuts loose or the tree falls over it can cause serious damage to structures or property. It could crash into your home, vehicles, or even a neighbor’s property. If you have noticed a change in your tree’s appearance, make sure you look for the following signs to know if your tree is sick and might need to be removed.
Leaf Symptoms
One of the first things you might notice is unseasonal dropping of leaves. While it’s normal for some conifers and deciduous trees to drop needles or leaves in the fall they shouldn’t be doing it in the spring or summer. If you have a tree that is losing a lot of leaves or needles during the period they should be growing, it’s likely sick.
Branch Symptoms
While falling leaves won’t hurt your property, a branch will. If your tree has dropped branches it is time to take a closer look. Healthy trees can be damaged by intense winds and storms. Sick trees will drop branches without inclement weather. Typically, in these cases the branches are dead looking and don’t have any leaves.
Bark Symptoms
Trees that are healthy have soft pliable mark that is evenly distributed on the tree’s surface. Sick trees commonly show bark symptoms by having flaking or brittle bark. If there are bald spots where the bark has fallen off naturally, you should suspect that something is wrong with your tree.
Trunk Symptoms
While there are plenty of kid’s books that show a wise old owl holed up in a tree, it is a bad sign for the health of the tree on your property. If there are any spots on your trees that are soft or rotted out it is a clear indication that your tree is sick and needs to be helped, or likely removed from your property.
Root Symptoms
Tree roots are critical for the health of your tree. If heavy vehicles are driving of them, they are constantly waterlogged, or lawn care equipment is constantly beating them up they are going to suffer. This puts the whole tree at risk and should be avoided. While damage from vehicles or lawn care is going to be easy to see other problems like over saturation or fungus take a closer look.
Removing Dead Trees
If you noticed any of these common sick tree symptoms, and it’s already too late for your tree and your arborist cannot save it, it should be removed. Trees carry a lot of weight and can do serious damage to roofs, walls, fences, vehicles, and anything they land on if they fall. The higher the tree the biggest the risk of damage and the more you need a professional tree removal company.
Don’t risk your safety or the safety of your property if you have a sick tree and need to remove it. They can be unpredictable and fall the wrong way without the proper training and equipment.
Tree Care Guide 