Keeping your home looking great takes a lot of work. This includes maintaining the landscaping.
After all, beautiful landscaping doesn’t happen by accident. That’s why you need to understand how to care for the trees on your property. If you’ve been wondering how to tell if a tree is dying, you’ve come to the right place for help.
This article takes a look at signs that a tree is dying so that you can nurse it back to health or remove it from your lawn. Keep reading to get the inside scoop on identifying problems with trees before they get worse.
The Leaves Don’t Look Healthy
One of the easiest ways to identify an unhealthy tree is to look at its leaves. If you have deciduous trees, they should produce lush green leaves with only a touch of brown here and there during the prime growing season.
Coniferous trees are different. They are evergreen, thus they will start showing brown, red, and yellow needles or leaves when unhealthy or dying.
It’s important to understand as much as possible about the species of trees planted on your property so that you can identify how those specific trees should look throughout the year.
Be sure to check out these arborist reports.
There’s a Lot of Visible Dead Wood
Do the trees in your yard have dead branches? If so, this could be a sign of an unhealthy tree, and yet not necessarily. After all, some branches will simply die during the dormant season.
However, if a tree seems to have a prevalence of dead wood this could be clear evidence of a tree that is sick or dying.
The Tree is Infested with Insects and Fungus
Critters and fungus can quickly impact the overall health of a tree. For example, bark beetles and carpenter ants often infest trees that are in the process of dying and actually speed up the process.
Fungal and bacterial infections are another serious problem. Look for discolored areas, depressed spots on the bark, or mushrooms growing around the base of the tree. These are clear indications of rot in the trunk or roots.
The Roots are Damaged
A tree’s roots are obviously extremely important to their overall health. That’s why you need to pay close attention to roots that appear damaged.
It’s also important to remember that most of the roots are located underground, thus they are not visible. This is why it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the roots that are visible and take steps to protect them.
The Tree is Leaning
A tree typically shouldn’t lean more than about 15 degrees from verticle. Thus a tree that appears to be leaning more than this could be showing signs of wind or root damage. Trees rarely recover from these conditions and will usually die.
A Homeowner’s Guide to How to Tell if a Tree is Dying
Keeping your property looking beautiful is important for maintaining curb appeal. Fortunately, these tips for how to tell if a tree is dying will help you to know when something’s not quite right.
Keep scrolling to discover additional home improvement and lifestyle tips on our blog.
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