One of the joys of having a large, spacious yard is being able to add trees to your landscape design. Not only are trees amazing air purifiers, but they also provide refreshing shade and unmatched beauty to an outdoor space. Unfortunately, it’s easy to take these gorgeous natural specimens for granted, as they often do so well without any help from us. Or at least so we think.
Unlike flower beds that instantly shrivel and start screaming “Water us!” whenever you forget to do so, trees are more resilient and do not show signs of neglect so quickly. But heavy rain, harsh winds, extended drought, lack of pruning, diseases and many other factors do take their toll over time, and once you notice that a tree is in a bad state, it might be too late to take measures.
Unhealthy trees pose a serious cause for concern, and that’s not just from an aesthetic point of view. Instead of beautifying your yard, a damaged or diseased tree can become a threat to the functionality and safety of your space. A decaying tree could fall anytime and damage your property, destroy power lines, or even worse – hurt someone that happened to be in its path. Therefore, it’s essential to obtain an arboricultural impact assessment by a professional at least once every couple of years. It’s advisable to do this once the tree has reached a considerable height, and also in the case of a serious storm affecting your property, despite there being no visible damages to the tree.
An arboricultural impact assessment from an expert arborist is the best way to guarantee that your trees do not pose any risks. Professionals will make sure to cover all bases: the state of the bark, the trunk, the crown and canopy, and every single branch. They will even go so far as to assess the root system – something that you yourself don’t have the proper knowledge or equipment to perform. It’s important to know that trees can create serious problems even below ground. Roots that grow uncontrollably may push into water pipes causing them to break, eat into the pavement, or reach your house’s foundations and cause damage that’s hard and expensive to repair.
Once the risk assessment is finished, if the tree is considered problematic, there are several ways to deal with the risk. You may be faced with the difficult decision of removing the tree, treat the underlying factor that causes damage or disease, or makes changes to the site. Sometimes the situation can call for more than one option. But whatever the outcome, always make sure to put the safety of your yard and home first.