This is a portion of an article written in February ‘05 for the Hull Massachusetts Garden Club by Julie McIntosh Shapiro.  It is printed here with the author’s permission.  It is a long article, so it will be presented in several segments. 

While you’re looking out your windows, now might be a great time to examine the trees on your property and those close by, to see if any have suffered damage from the latest winter storm. Mario Vaden, an Oregon state arborist checks in with us with his list of things to look for in a dangerous or hazardous tree:

9. SUSPENDED, DETACHED LIMBS OR TREE TOPS.

Sometimes limbs and tree tops break loose and only fall a few feet, getting caught in the remaining parts of the tree, or in other trees. Sometimes they are hard to spot. Spend plenty of time viewing your trees from different angles as you look up and down throughout the entire canopy. Check your trees to make sure the tip of the leader, or tips or leaders, are still intact.

10. A LARGE DIAMETER TRUNK OVER A SMALLER DIAMETER.

This is a portion of an article written in February ‘05 for the Hull Massachusetts Garden Club by Julie McIntosh Shapiro.  It is printed here with the author’s permission.  It is a long article, so it will be presented in several segments. 

While you’re looking out your windows, now might be a great time to examine the trees on your property and those close by, to see if any have suffered damage from the latest winter storm. Mario Vaden, an Oregon state arborist checks in with us with his list of things to look for in a dangerous or hazardous tree:

6. CRACKED TRUNKS.

Cracks in bark can be totally natural and normal. Usually, cracks in the wood are not a good sign. If your tree's trunk - the wood - is cracked, call for an inspection as soon as you can.

7. BROKEN OR HANGING BRANCHES.

These are branches that have broken and 'healed' poorly, or, have broken and are dangling by a 'thread' so to speak. They may be alive or dead. Professional 'circles' may refer to these as 'hangers' at times.

8. DEADWOOD.

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This is a portion of an article written in February ‘05 for the Hull Massachusetts Garden Club by Julie McIntosh Shapiro.  It is printed here with the author’s permission.  It is a long article, so it will be presented in several segments. 

While you’re looking out your windows, now might be a great time to examine the trees on your property and those close by, to see if any have suffered damage from the latest winter storm. Mario Vaden, an Oregon state arborist checks in with us with his list of things to look for in a dangerous or hazardous tree:

4. HOLLOW POCKETS, CAVITIES AND DECAY.

Inspect trees for peeling bark, hollow cavities and conks or mushroom resembling growth on the bark. Mushrooms (or fungus) may be a sign of decay, especially if the origin of the growth is from within the wood as opposed to the extremity of the bark alone. Each of these conditions indicates some kind of weakness. Sometimes the tree needs to be removed, many times it can be preserved.

5. HISTORY OF THE TREE ZONE.

Has the tree been topped? Have you or your neighbors applied herbicides recently (hot weather especially)? Has the grade of the soil been changed? Have roots been damaged or cut, possibly from trenching or concrete work? Have new plants or a lawn been installed in the recent past? Have other trees been removed, altering the intensity of available sunlight? Have any treatments been done in the area - non-tree-related - such as treating for moss on a roof or driveway?

This is a portion of an article written in February ‘05 for the Hull Massachusetts Garden Club by Julie McIntosh Shapiro.  It is printed here with the author’s permission.  It is a long article, so it will be presented in several segments. 

Well, did anybody have to sharpen his or her snow shovel the past three weeks? Yikes. In some places in our area, trees were covered from stem to stern with snow pack. We really got blasted. But our bulbs and perennials are fast asleep under it all, not phased in the least. The best I can figure is that we received about 24-40” of snow in about three days.

While you’re looking out your windows, now might be a great time to examine the trees on your property and those close by, to see if any have suffered damage from the latest winter storm. Mario Vaden, an Oregon state arborist checks in with us with his list of things to look for in a dangerous or hazardous tree:

1. MULTIPLE LEADERS OR TRUNKS.

Many trees have multiple leaders, like trunks. Many times, the union of these, where they connect, are weak 'V' shaped unions. These could allow the tree to split down the middle like two people pulling on a wishbone. There are remedies for conditions like this.

2. LEANING TRUNK POSITION.

Check to see if your tree's trunk has moved from a vertical position to a leaning position recently. Or, was it leaning before, but more now. Gaps and fissures in the soil near the trunk may be a result of the root system pulling loose. Some healthy trees will lean a little regardless, like the ones at the edge of a grove, leaning for light.

3. WEAK LIMBS OR BRANCHES.