Is Your Tree a Danger? How to Spot Potential Hazards

As we move into the spring months, your perennial plants will be blooming, and trees are no exception. It’s important to keep an eye on your tree throughout the year and ensure its transition into the warmer months is happy and healthy.
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If you own a tree or a tree is on your ground, it is your responsibility to ensure it does not pose any danger or threat therefore regular checks should be carried out for any potential hazards. Ask us about our tree assessments.

At Tree Surgeon Essex, we have identified signs your tree could pose a danger:

​Leaning
Trees lean for various reasons; some are part of their natural growth and others indicate an underlying problem. If you find that your tree is leaning more than usual or if it is leaning towards a property, walkway or utility line, this could be a clear sign of issues with stability and therefore poses risk of injury. This can often happen after high winds and storms and prompt action should be taken.
 
Branches
Dead branches which have fallen on the ground indicate that the tree is in poor condition. The tree is not getting enough nourishment so is shedding dead branches, self-pruning and making itself smaller to remain healthy. It can also indicate that it is getting attacked on the inside by burrowing insects and weakening to the point that it could fall.

Branches which grow too close together often form a V-shape. The best time to spot this on deciduous trees is during late August or winter when the leaves have fallen off naturally. This is called a co-dominant stem and is likely to split or fall. 
 
Cankers
A canker is a destructive fungal disease that eats into the tree tissue resulting in dead sections of the branch or trunk. They appear as deep cracks, missing bark, patches and growths weakening the structure of the tree and making them prone to further damage. It is often a sign that the tree is dying, and professional assessment is needed urgently.   

Regular pruning can ensure branches do not overlap or rub against each other which is often where the wound starts for cankers. Our arborists can carefully plan around your tree to minimise any wounds allowing it to heal before disease can infect the area. An open wound from a broken branch could lead to decay inside the tree and a cavity forming inside the trunk.

Some holes are a result of woodpecker activity as they prefer dead trees. If they cannot find this, they will find weak or rotting areas on the tree that are infested with insects. Healthy trees can usually withstand woodpecker activity but if your tree has excessive holes, this could indicate a pest problem. 

Tree Roots
It can be harder to tell if roots have become weak and rotten but it’s an indication that the tree is rotting on the inside. Mushrooms or other fungi growing around the base of the tree or on the trunk is a sign of this. Soil that is cracked or raised is also a sign of uprooting and that the tree is losing grip on the soil increasing the risk of falling. 
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The overall form and structure of your tree will provide the biggest indication of any issues. A tree with multiple trunks is also likely to split. A strong reliable tree should have one primary trunk growing straight up with all other branches extending from it. Younger trees, if not pruned properly, can grow two or more trunks which can grow in different directions and may need cabling. 
 
Scratch Test
Decays cannot be reversed and a good way of testing if your tree is decaying is through the scratch test. Scratch the bark about halfway up the tree with your thumbnail or a small knife. Green underneath will indicate it is still alive while brown is dead. Do not cut a large wound into the tree as this will require more effort to heal and do not perform the scratch test on a branch or limb as it may be dead, but the rest of the tree is alive.
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If you have a tree that needs inspecting for potential hazards, please seek professional help by giving us a call on 01708 578 017.

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Tree Surgeon Services in Essex