How to Tell If a Tree Is Dead: 6 Signs to Look For

There may come a time when, due to disease, annoying insects or old age, the plant you are caring for will die. There is always doubt: “Will he die or maybe he is just sick and can be saved with help?” Fortunately, some telltale signs are quite obvious. Read on to learn how to tell if a tree is dead.

Lack of Foliage

If it’s spring or summer and all the other plants in the area have leaves but yours doesn’t, that’s a sign of a problem. Missing leaves doesn’t always mean the plant is dead, but it can mean the plant is sick, so you should keep checking the plant as this sign won’t tell the whole story.

If it is winter or fall and you have a deciduous tree that is not oak, oak, hornbeam or ironwood and is holding on to a few leaves, this could also be a symptom. Again, this won’t be conclusive, so you’ll have to find more evidence.

Trunk Damage

Seeing obvious damage to the trunk will tell you something good. If the trunk is damaged and the bark around the tree has completely peeled off, the tree will not survive. Even damage to the bark of the main trunk surrounding half the tree increases the risk of tree death.

Fungus Growth

The first thing you should pay attention to is the presence of crumbs or shelves of mushrooms on the trunk or a large amount of mushroom growing around the base of the tree. Fungi attacking dead tissue in healthy trees is not a problem; Problems arise when the fungus attacks living tissue.1

The presence of fungus on an unhealthy tree may indicate that the tree trunk is rotting, creating an environment for fungus to grow. When large amounts of fungus are visible on the ground around a tree, it may indicate that the tree’s roots are rotting, creating a similar environment for growth.

Vertical Cracks

Although not always an obvious sign, large vertical cracks or cracks can be a sign and, when combined with other signs, almost certainly indicate a dying or dead tree. Individual division, depending on the size of the tree, is not necessarily a death sentence, but almost guarantees a call to the arborist. There are several options for repairing cracks other than removing the wood.

Tree removal is the most expensive solution, but also the safest, since a cracked tree can pose a danger to surrounding structures, not to mention people.

Peeling Bark

A large number of tree species experience bark peeling, and many species can recover from severe bark damage, so this is not a symptom. The most alarming case of peeling is when it envelops the tree in a 360-degree area called the border. (Wire trees can survive, but you should seek help from an arborist.)

If the damaged bark appears older and the exposed wood is no longer green but becomes smooth and shows no signs of healing, this is another clear sign that the tree is dead.

Sudden Leaning

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A harbinger of an impending symptom can be the above-mentioned annoying fungi, which begin to feed on rotten roots. When enough of the root structure has rotted away, the tree will begin to grow sideways, which becomes apparent when the ground around the base becomes softer. Other signs should have started to show by this time, but unless the tree is outdoors or in a densely forested area, the first sign you will most likely see will be a leaning tree.

However, leaning is not a sure sign of a dying tree. Consider the effect of wind on the tree, the condition of its branches, and the slope of the ground on which the tree is growing, as all of these can also cause leaning. Sudden weight loss is alarming.