Is my tree declining?

Most trees decline slowly, over a few seasons. Catching it early gives you more choices. Sometimes the answer is that the tree is fine as it is.

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Signs worth a closer look

• Thin leaves at the top of the tree, or smaller leaves than last year

• Leaves turning brown or dropping in mid-summer

• Dead branches high in the tree

• Mushrooms or crusty fungus at the base or on the roots

• Bark falling off, cracks, or wet, oozing patches on the trunk

• Fine sawdust in the bark or at the base

• A lean that is new, or soil lifting on one side

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Common causes around Chapel Hill

• Root damage from construction: a new driveway or addition, trenching, or soil piled over the roots. The tree often looks fine for a few years before it shows.

• Drought on our clay soils, especially in large oaks after a dry summer

• Emerald ash borer, which kills ash trees that are not treated

• Hypoxylon canker and other fungi that move in once an oak is stressed

• Root rot, and roots that circle and choke the trunk

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What to do

• Free stop-by visit: an ISA Certified Arborist comes by when nearby, looks at the tree and emails you what we found and a quote. You don't need to be home.

• Free 20-minute consultation with a Board Certified Master Arborist, weekday mornings

• 1-hour on-site consultation: $125

• Tree risk assessment with a written report, for large trees near houses, HOAs and insurance questions

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What we'll tell you

We will tell you when a tree needs nothing, or when work will not help. Treatment can slow some kinds of decline, and some trees are past it. Any assessment is a snapshot of the tree at the time we see it, not a guarantee.