Signs of a Dying Tree on Your Property

From a young age, we learn all about the seasons. We learn that come Fall, the brilliant green leaves on trees will change colour, wilt, and fall to the ground. In winter the trees are bare, protecting themselves from the elements, before blossoming in an extravagant show of health every spring. But what happens when your tree doesn’t act normally in springtime? It doesn’t take an experienced gardener to notice that something’s wrong with a naked, lifeless tree while flowers blossom in the garden all around it. Read on to find out whether or not that tree on your property’s in serious trouble, and if removal is the only option you have left.

Trees die and help nurture the growth of new trees regularly in forests: it’s the circle of life. But in your yard? A dying tree could be a sign of a much bigger problem and has the potential to cause damage to your garden and even to your home. These are some of the things you need to be aware of.

One of the more obvious signs of a struggling tree is its shape. If your tree is leaning a little off-center, then it’s no big deal. But if it’s leaning like the Tower of Pisa, then it could be weak and dying. Anything greater than a 15° angle would be worth getting checked as this means the tree roots aren’t strong enough to support the tree in high winds.

Another easy thing to check is the health of your tree. If there are deep cuts and gashes, then your tree is likely to become diseased. Trees become cracked and cut all the time, but normally they’re able to recover and heal quickly. If that cut has become diseased or infected, then not only will the tree fail to recover but the cracks will expand and get worse. This is also a wonderful opportunity for pests to infest your tree.

You’ll need to keep an eye out for decay and deadwood too. Decay is much more difficult to spot than deadwood. One or two bare branches isn’t a problem, but once that begins to spread throughout the tree it’s usually a sign of waning health. If some branches snap and fall with the slightest force, your tree could be in trouble.

​So there are some obvious signs of a dying tree and some not-so-obvious signs. At times it’s clear that a dark, leafless tree is dying, but other times a tree will be sick and an untrained eye won’t be able to spot the tell-tale signs. Cracks can be difficult to find as they’re often hidden beneath layers of bark. The same goes for decay and pest infestation: buried under the bark, or even deep underground in the tree roots, pests could be destroying your tree from the inside out and will quickly kill a sick tree.

This is why you’re strongly recommended to seek expert tree removal service, and nobody does it better than our highly trained technicians at Martin’s Tree Services. We identify sick, dying and dead trees quickly, using cutting-edge technology and top quality instruments to establish how sick your tree is. If it’s beyond repair, we’ll remove your tree efficiently and safely, making sure the rest of your property isn’t affected.

That being said, sometimes tree removal isn’t absolutely required. If we believe that your tree has the capacity to recover, we’ll diagnose the sickness your tree has and let you know how you can bring it back to full health.