Tips On How To Tell If A Tree Is Dead

In general, the signs of a dead tree are as follows:

Dormancy or lack of growth
Unusual fungal growth
Peeling or damaged bark or branches
Many new critter residents

How Can I Tell If A Tree Is Dead?

Death is inevitable with all living things. When a tree’s life-cycle comes to an end, it doesn’t happen overnight. The last thing you want to do is have a tree removed, a costly expense for any household or business. You also don’t want to remove a living tree either.

Fortunately, there are many signs that even an untrained eye can look out for when determining whether a tree is dead. The trick is getting up close and personal to a dying tree to pinpoint symptoms or causes.

All efforts should go toward saving the tree if it is fixable. But first, you’ll need to take some diagnostic steps.

What Are The Visible Signs Of A Dying Tree?

When trees begin dying, there is a combination of visible signs – select branches never bud, splitting, or color. These, of course, vary from one species of tree to the next, such as maple, walnut, and the everyday fruit-bearing tree.

Color Changes

A prime symptom for pine or evergreen trees – is browning or turning a reddish color. Their leaves, or needles, shed on a cycle throughout the year.

The most unmistakable evidence you’ll run across for any dying tree is its leaves. If a tree doesn’t have any leaves nearing August, that’s mounting evidence of a problem or imminent death.

That includes browning or graying leaves. But this is not an indicator in autumn.

Lack Of Buds/Growth

The region you live in dictates the length of a growing season. Climate change is also a factor that may explain some unseasonal growth for budding trees.

If you don’t see buds on your tree during its average growing period, your tree might be dying.

Fungal Growth

Signs are often visible from a distance, but more symptoms become clear once you get closer. And each symptom needs recording, so you know when you first took note.

If you see unusual fungal growth near the ground, like mushrooms around the trunk of a tree, it’s a good sign of a dead or dying tree.

Other Signs Of Dying Or Dead Trees

Check for signs of life by scratching the surface of the tree’s bark to look for a moist, fleshy, and green interior. If you do not see this, other symptoms of a dying tree include:

Subterranean tree rot
Tree bark peeling away from the trunk
Insects, like the pine bark beetle
Split or cracked limbs or trunks
Broken and hanging branches
Parasitic plants

The above are symptoms and signs of a dead or dying tree. In such a case, you’re going to need to remove the tree.

Tips On Getting Rid Of Or Killing Invasive Plants:

How Do Parasitic Plants Kill Trees?

If your tree has dwarf mistletoe or sandalwood growing on it, it will have a slow death. These parasites feed on a tree’s existing nutrients and rob it of any new nutrients.

What Are Signs On A Trunk That Point To A Tree’s Death?

Subterranean tree rot is a silent killer. It lurks beneath the surface, outside of your vision.

Once tree rot begins, other symptoms will eventually appear, often as peeling bark or splitting gashes in the trunk or limbs.

An insect infestation can cause discoloration of the wood and destroy a tree layer. This only opens the tree to another stratum of death by rot.

Can Animals Contribute To A Tree’s Death?

Beavers are notorious for taking down trees. Some other rodents with teeth that need sharpening are porcupines and squirrels.

In truth, animals are not contributing factors to a tree’s death. If anything, a dead tree is a habitat for various rodents, owls, woodpeckers, and some insects.

Barking Up Our Closing

There is no set of easy instructions to identify, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a tree is dead or dying. It takes an enormous amount of observation and recording over months or even years.

You should now have some sense of what signs to watch out for—bark discoloration, bark peel, inept growth of a single limb, splitting, or decay.

If all indicators point to a dead tree, reach out to a local arborist in your area.