Checking the health of your tree

With all trees, most of the time (excluding seasonal changes), just assess whether the tree looks happy or sad.

Happy is shown by a full canopy of leaves and leaves with lustre (unless deciduous and in autumn/winter)

Sad, leaves wihout lustre, brown leaves in canopy / autumnal colours at wrong time of year, sparse canopy, and leaves on the ground at wrong time of year. With deciduous trees, leaves being lost from the branch tips or with evergreen trees foliage being lost excessively from the inside out.

When stressed, trees will drop leaves, as they transpire precious moisture, to enable them to concentrate on their roots. If the canopy contains brown dead leaves, this is more serious as the message to lose leaves has not got thru. A tree will dieback to a size it can support.

Always consider the prevailing weather, is it benign ( cool, damp) or siege like, hot and dry? Have there been any changes around the tree? Has the aftercare been amended according to the prevailing weather? If the tree was planted or transplanted within the last five years, it should still be watered to accomodate for the reduced root system.

To determine if the branch is still viable the cambium needs to be checked. This is the bright green transport layer, just beneath the bark. Lightky scrape the bark to reveal the cambium if bright green, the branch is still viable, if it is brown, the branch has died.