Common Signs Your Tree is Not Completely Healthy
At Affordable Tree Care, our priority is the health of all the trees on your property. While we do offer services like tree removal when needed, we also offer tree spraying and disease prevention services that will help your trees live a long, healthy life.
In many cases, diseases or major concerns won’t be a risk at all once we’ve provided spraying and other protection. If you haven’t had these services done, however, there could be several signs your trees are giving you that they are unhealthy and require professional arborist care. Let’s go over a few of these major signs, what they might mean and how you should respond to them if you notice them.
Strangling
If you notice that a stem root appears to be “strangling” the tree near its base, it’s possible this root is preventing the flow of nutrients from the roots up into the trunk. This is often due to improper planting or poor growing – these roots should be removed during planting. It could also be due to planting thee tree too deeply.
However, removal of these roots is also possible later in the tree’s life. Call our pros about scheduling an inspection plus a removal if needed.
Unusual Growths
Have you begun to notice strange growths on your tree, particularly fruiting bodies? These often signal internal decay taking lace within the tree – fungi enter through bark wounds or dead branch stubs, then decay from the inside out. They eat away at the heartwood and sapwood of the tree, the living parts that bring nutrients up and down to vital areas.
In some cases, these growths are caused by improper branch removal – this is why having pruning and trimming done by our trained professionals is important. If your tree has bodies growing on it, contact our arborists about an inspection.
Oozing
If you’ve begun to see dark streaks of liquid running down your tree, particularly if they seem to be coming from a visible wound, this is likely a condition called slime flux. It results from stress due to soil compaction or internal damage – the slime itself is a defense mechanism, not part of the actual disease, but it might kill grass or plants growing nearby.
While there isn’t necessarily a required treatment for slime flux, it could signal other conditions that you need to investigate.
Major Wounds
Finally, if you notice major cracks or bark wounds, these are open areas for bacteria and fungi to invade. You can avoid these by being gentle with your tree’s bark, which should be thought of almost like a layer of skin protecting it from harm. If you aren’t sure how to prune a given tree, contact our professionals for tree trimming that will be done the right way. We’ll help you make the right cuts to help the tree seal over any existing wounds and limit decay risks.
For more on the signs your trees might be giving you that they are dealing with disease, or to learn about any of our tree trimming or removal services, speak to the staff at Affordable Tree Care today.
