You’ve been watching the same branch for a few weeks now. Something about it doesn’t look right. Maybe it’s the way it hangs, maybe there’s a crack you noticed after the last storm, maybe it’s just a gut feeling that it’s not sitting the way it used to. You’re not sure if you’re being paranoid or if you’re actually looking at a problem.
You’re probably not being paranoid.
What Actually Makes a Branch Dangerous
Not every branch that looks a little off is about to come down. But there are specific things that tell you a branch has moved from something to watch into something to deal with.
A crack or split where the branch meets the trunk is the most serious one. That junction is where the branch gets its structural support. When it cracks there the branch is no longer fully attached and it doesn’t need much to finish the job. A strong afternoon thunderstorm, a gust of wind from the wrong direction, sometimes just the weight of the branch itself over time. Once you see a crack at the base of a branch you’re past the point of watching and waiting.
Dead wood is another clear sign. A branch that has no leaves during growing season, bark that’s peeling or falling off, wood that snaps instead of bending. Dead branches don’t fail gradually. They fail suddenly and they don’t give you any warning when they do.
Hanging branches are the ones that catch people off guard most often. A branch that cracked during a storm but didn’t fully separate is sitting up in the canopy held by a thread of wood or bark. From the ground it can look like it’s still attached. It’s not. Those branches come down on their own schedule and that schedule has nothing to do with yours.
What to Look For From the Ground
You don’t need to climb the tree or get up close to assess most of these situations. Walk around the tree and look up into the canopy. Look for branches where the leaves look different from the rest of the tree. Look for spots where the bark is missing or peeling in a way that’s different from the rest. Look at the junctions where major branches meet the trunk and see if anything looks cracked or split.
Look at the ground around the base of the tree too. Mushrooms growing at the base, soft or spongy ground around the roots, sawdust looking material around the base of the trunk. These are signs of decay happening inside the tree that you can’t always see from above.
When It’s Close to Something That Matters
A branch hanging over open grass is a different situation from a branch hanging over your roof, your pool cage, your car or your driveway. The first one comes down and you clean it up. The second one comes down and you’re dealing with a repair bill that could have been avoided.
If the branch you’re watching is positioned over anything you don’t want it to land on, the threshold for acting should be lower. You don’t need to be certain it’s about to fall. You just need to recognize that if it does fall the consequences are significant and getting it dealt with now is cheaper and less stressful than dealing with what happens if it doesn’t.
Don’t Wait for the Next Storm to Make the Decision
The calls that come in after storms in Spring Hill follow the same pattern every time. A branch that someone had been watching came down during the storm. Sometimes it landed on the roof. Sometimes it went through a screen enclosure. Sometimes it just missed the car by a few feet and the homeowner is shaken up about how close it was.
Every one of those situations was visible before the storm. The branch was already showing signs. The homeowner just hadn’t gotten around to calling yet.
If you’re looking at a branch right now and something about it doesn’t feel right, that feeling is usually telling you something. Get someone out to look at it and give you a straight answer before the next storm comes through and makes the decision for you.
Spring Hill Tree Specialists will come out, take a look at the branch and tell you honestly whether it needs to come down. Free estimates on all work.