As trees across the Hill Country fill out with spring growth, you get the most useful free diagnostic of the year. Healthy branches leaf out. Dead, damaged and diseased ones do not, and suddenly they are obvious.
Related: Tree trimming in Wimberley and the Hill Country.
What to look for
Walk the trees around the house, driveway, patio and play areas and watch for dead or leafless branches, thin or uneven canopy growth, discolored leaves, broken or storm-damaged limbs, and anything hanging over a roof, vehicle or path. Plenty of problems that hide all winter become visible the moment growth starts.
Deadwood can come out now
Dead, broken and structurally compromised limbs can be removed year round, and it is worth doing before summer storms and the outdoor season. It improves safety and lets the tree put energy into healthy growth.
But the oaks still wait
Spring-blooming trees like Texas redbud and mountain laurel are best pruned right after flowering. Oaks can be worked year round, provided every cut is sealed as it is made, because of oak wilt. If your oaks need work, spring is a good time to book the assessment. Summer fills up.
See oak tree trimming for the detail on timing.
What leaf-out reveals
Healthy branches leaf out and dead ones do not, so for a few weeks each spring the deadwood in a canopy becomes obvious from the ground. It is the cheapest diagnostic of the year and it costs nothing but a walk around the property.
Look for bare or sparse branches against the new growth, uneven density across the canopy, discolored or undersized leaves, and anything hanging or broken that winter left behind.
Reading the direction of decline
Direction matters more than most people realize. Symptoms that start at the top of the tree and progress downward point to something moving through the vascular system. Decline that starts low and works upward more often points to root damage, compaction or a grade change.
Several nearby trees declining together is a different signal again, and on oaks it is a strong clue of oak wilt, which spreads through interconnected roots at 75 to 100 feet per year.
The live oak trap
Live oaks shed their old leaves in late winter and early spring as new growth pushes, so a live oak dropping leaves in February is doing exactly what live oaks do. What is not normal is leaves falling while still partly green during summer, or veinal necrosis where the veins brown while the tissue between them stays green.
What can be done now, and what waits
Dead, broken and structurally compromised limbs can be removed at any time of year, on any species, and it is worth doing before summer storms.
Oaks are the exception on handling rather than timing. Every cut is sealed on the spot, because sap-feeding beetles are drawn to fresh oak wounds. Spring is a good time to book the assessment, because that calendar fills quickly.
Not sure what you are looking at?
Telling deadwood from dormant wood from a genuine hazard is harder than it sounds. We will walk the property free of charge.