Safe Tree Care

No leaves, no life.
Dead limbs falling from a tree are the greatest tree-related threat to people and property, Gillman warns. If most of its limbs are dead, the whole tree could even collapse. How can you tell when a tree limb is dead? If it has leaves that are brown and dry, it's dead. Similarly, if it has no leaves in spring and summer, it's dead and it's not coming back, he says. Get dead tree limbs removed as soon as possible to protect your home. To avoid the hazards of falling limbs, take note of your trees over a couple of seasons. Dying limbs will grow fewer and fewer clusters of leaves along their length—that is, the leaves will start to show up only at the end of the limb, and there will be few or none between the trunk and the tip. Within a couple of seasons, that limb is likely to be dead.

All brown, bring it down.
Evergreen trees can turn partially brown from time to time, but if most of the tree isn't a healthy green in the summer, it is dead or soon to be so. Have the dead tree taken down before it falls.

Go with a pro.
If a mature tree in your yard needs dead limbs cut off or must be taken down completely, hire a professional to do the job, Gillman urges. Tree care is dangerous work that requires experience and specific tools to be done right to protect your home. (Your local government may also require you to get a permit to remove any large trees.) The International Society of Arboriculture (isa-arbor.com) can help you find a qualified professional.

Beware of bumping.
There are many reasons why trees in your yard might die prematurely—you can control only a few of them. An all too common cause of lethal damage to trees is hitting the trunk persistently with a lawn mower or weed whacker. This weakens the protective bark and can invite pests and diseases that may eventually kill the tree.

Don't mound the mulch.
One way homeowners protect trees from lawn mowers is by mulching around the base. When spreading mulch around trees, think doughnut rather than volcano. That is, don't mound up the mulch high on the trunk; instead, form a ring around its base. This keeps the tree's bark from staying soggy, which can encourage pests to start chewing it away.

Use sun protection.
When trees are young and their bark is thin, they can be vulnerable to sunscald, which weakens them as they get older. Sunscald occurs on bright winter days when the sun warms the tree and its sap begins to rise. After dark, when temperatures drop back to below freezing, the bark and a few layers of wood beneath it dry out, crack, and never heal. You can protect trees from sunscald during their first few winters by wrapping the trunk in white plastic sheaths you can find at your local nursery. Remember to remove the wrap in spring, Gillman cautions, because it can damage the tree if it inhibits the trunk's growth.