Thinning or dying crown
Especially when it starts at the top and works down.
Pest & disease control
Pest & disease control
Major diseases and insect infestations can kill a tree quickly — and spread to the healthy trees around it. Catching it early is most of the work.
Diagnosis first
A tree in decline looks much the same whatever the cause. Drought stress, root damage, a boring insect and a fungal pathogen can all produce the same thinning canopy — and the treatment for one does nothing for the others.
So the first job is finding out which it is. That means looking at the crown, the trunk, the root collar and the site, rather than spraying and hoping.
- Identification of the actual pest or pathogen
- Assessment of how far it has progressed
- Whether neighbouring trees are at risk
- Deep root feeding where the tree needs support to recover
- An honest call when a tree is too far gone to save
Worth calling about
Early signals on any tree
Holes or sawdust on the trunk
Small exit holes and fine frass usually mean a boring insect already inside the wood.
Fungal brackets
Shelf fungi on the trunk or root collar indicate decay in the structural wood, not just a surface problem.
Oozing or staining bark
Dark weeping patches on the trunk are worth identifying rather than washing off.
Discoloured or early-dropping leaves
Out-of-season colour or leaf drop is a stress response with many possible causes.
A neighbour's tree went first
Several things spread tree to tree. If one nearby has died, the ones around it are worth checking.
Something wrong with a tree?
Free estimate and a proper diagnosis — before it spreads to the ones next to it.