Trees not only add beauty to the site. But they also provide shelter and maintain our ecosystem. Living in a house for years, you develop a sentimental bond with everything even with the trees in your garden. Most of your childhood memories are with that old tree in your house with whom you hang the swing or spent a lovely picnic day under that tree. So eventually, they become a valuable asset for you. And, trees get more vital for you if gardening is your favorite hobby or if you love plants. So, when a tree falls ill, it doesn’t only sadden you, but also, it is damaging for your property. The best course of action is to hire arborist services for inspecting your tree’s health, however, you can read on to explore the ways for assessing the health of the tree.

Pruning Of Trees

With the changing seasons, pruning of the damaged branches is necessary. You should do it on a seasonal basis. And if not possible, you must do it on an annual basis. It is because the damaged branches are of no use and they eat up the whole plant from inside. The dead branches are a source of invitation to the insects and diseases. You can inspect the health of branches with two tests. One is the scratching test, and the other is a bending test. Scratch the branch with your thumbnail to see either its alive or not. The active branch is green in color while an old branch shows a brown color.

Moreover, if you bend an old branch, it snaps with a little more pressure. But, an active branch bends easily and is elastic. Additionally, pruning improves the overall health of the tree by giving way to the new leaves and shed the extracts as well.

Inspecting Leaf Health

The shape, color, and size of the leaf tell a lot about the health of a tree. It shows whether it is having proper minerals, nutrients, water, and sunlight or not. For most of the trees, they contain green color leaves in spring and summer. And, yellow or orange leaves in autumn. So, if you see leaves with unusual color on a tree, there are chances that the tree is getting sick. Unless or until the tree produces yellow or red color leaves naturally.

Moreover, if there is some irregularity in the shape and size of leaves, that means, they are not getting the proper nutrients. For instance, if the leaves show stunted and irregular growth. Besides nutrient deficiency, it can be the cause of either pesticide, insects, or some disease.

Inspecting Trunk Health

The trunk is the main structure of a plant, and most of the health of a plant depends upon it. Therefore, you must take care of it. If you inspect huge deep cracks in the tree trunk that shows the structural weakness of it. Plus, the bark of a healthy tree never peels off except some trees that are naturally this way. And the symptoms of a decaying trunk is swelling or the overgrowth of some particular area.

Moreover, for a healthy trunk, it must be free of moss or fungi. Also, fill up the cracks in the trunk with tree guard if possible. And be careful with equipment while using them around trees, as they can also damage the trees.

Furthermore, for a decaying trunk, you must consult a certified arborist. For he’ll estimate the exact extent of decay of the tree. And, will suggest the cure as well. Or in an extreme case, you might have to cut the tree.

Keep A Check On Annual Growth

The steady growth of the tree is the essential sign of its health. It must grow annually from its trunk as well as branches. Plus, not all developments are the same. They vary from species to species. So, you must know what the growth rate for your species is. And then, you can check on the annual growth by comparing the buds from the last season with this year.

However, the real way of checking the growth is cutting down the tree, and then counting the growth rings in the trunk. But you can use an alternative method as well where you measure the thickness of the trunk with the tape. For a healthy trunk, it increases in thickness annually. If you are not sure, find an arborist Chevy Chase to do a proper check up of your tree.