Top 5 Dangerous Tree Signs To Avoid This Winter
Tree safety is vital at every point in the year, but is a particular concern during blustery and storm-ridden winters. Ensuring that your tree is secure and disease-free is a serious responsibility and requires ongoing care to maintain. Failure to maintain your trees, whether on private or commercial land, can result in property damage, injury or even larger issues, leaving you to face legal and moral consequences.
As a leading tree surgeon in Devon, Kneebone Trees understands the value of tree safety. This is an ongoing commitment of our team, which is made all the more prominent by the harsh winter weather experienced across the region. Many of our clients query whether their trees are safe and what they can do to keep things this way.
In this post, we are sharing five of the most common dangerous tree signs and what needs to be done to protect your home, landscape, and neighbours.
Is Your Tree A Safety Risk? Why It Matters
Unstable or diseased trees can pose a major safety risk to not only your home and garden, but also your neighbours’, surrounding properties, members of the public, and even essential works such as electrical and power lines.
While this is a concern at all points of the year, it becomes an even bigger issue during winter storms, where harsh winds can make trees even more unstable and cause them to fall.
To prevent injury, damage, and legal liability, you are responsible for maintaining the safety of your own trees. We discuss your legal role and how to care for trees in our post Can My Neighbour Cut My Tree Without Asking? Your Rights and How to Resolve Tree Disputes. Understanding your role as the tree owner and how to care for trees is very important and can go a long way in ensuring your trees are safe.
As we approach some of the worst weather the winter has to offer, there has never been a better time to monitor your landscape, check for dangerous tree signs, and act.
Sign 1: Large Cracks or Splits in the Trunk
Structural cracks are one of the most significant and dangerous tree signs and are often hard to miss, especially when performing regular tree surveys and assessments.
Cracks or splits in the tree trunk can vary from vertical splits to deep fissures, all of which can appear due to ageing, wear and tear, and structural damage. These pose a risk to your landscape and the surrounding properties due to the fact that they weaken the core strength of the tree.
A tree gets its core strength from the trunk, which is often the widest and largest part of the tree. This provides the structural integrity of the tree, keeping it stable and upright throughout the seasons. However, when this becomes damaged and cracked, the tree is no longer stable. With harsh winds and wet weather, this becomes more prominent and can lead to serious damage or injuries.
Noticing this kind of structural damage is one of the first steps in storm-proofing and protecting your trees during the winter, as we explore in our guide Keep Trees Standing Strong Through Devon’s Autumn Storms: A How-To Guide.
While these dangerous tree signs are enough on their own and a call for professional intervention, they become even more significant when paired with other symptoms.
Sign 2: Dead, Dying, or Hanging Branches
Deadwood is often an indicator of internal issues within your tree and, therefore, needs to be addressed promptly. Through regular inspections and tree pruning, you can maintain not only the appearance but also the structure of your trees, preventing injury and collapse during the winter weather.
Branches can become damaged by weather conditions, such as harsh winds and rain, which may cause them to hang and pose a safety hazard. This is why regular tree pruning is essential, and it is your responsibility as the tree owner. We explore this further in our post Why You Should Prune Your Trees: Top 3 Reasons.
Dead and damaged branches may be easy to notice, such as hanging or snapped branches that threaten to become loose in the next wind storm. However, in some cases, the disease or damage may be shown through a lack of leaves during the growth season.
All of these indicate that a branch is damaged or dead and needs to be removed. To ensure you are safely pruning your trees and actively preventing these dangerous tree signs, see our post A Homeowner’s Guide to Safe Tree Pruning (Step-by-Step).
Sign 3: A Pronounced or Sudden Lean
Not all leaning trees are dangerous, but understanding the difference and being able to identify problems is vital to protect your home, surroundings, and neighbours.
Some trees may develop a lean over time, as they reach for light or adapt to prevailing winds. These long-established leans are often stable because the tree has developed supporting root growth to compensate, and are therefore not considered dangerous tree signs.
However, this is not to say that all leaning trees are equal. A new, sudden, or worsening lean is a serious warning sign and often indicates a failing tree root system. Tree root damage means that the tree is no longer anchored safely and now poses a serious threat.
You may see these changes after storms, prolonged rainfall, or ground disturbance, making them a bigger threat in winter than at any other point in the year. With the ongoing wet and windy weather across Devon this season, the soil around trees can become waterlogged, losing its strength and grip around the roots.
Even healthy trees can become unstable in these waterlogged conditions, and weakened trees are now at a much higher risk of tipping or falling during high winds with this instability.
Sign 4: Root Damage or Upheaval
Tree root systems are essential to the stability and safety of your trees. Any damage or exposure to the roots can be dangerous tree signs, and an indication that immediate action is needed.
Even if the trunk and canopy appear healthy, damaged or compromised roots can make a tree extremely unstable. This is because roots not only anchor the tree, but also absorb water and nutrients.
When they are damaged, cut, crushed, or weakened, the tree’s ability to remain upright, especially in strong winds, is significantly reduced. This can become more of a risk during wet and waterlogged conditions, making this a huge concern during the winter with its combination of wet and windy weather.
To determine whether your leaning tree is a hazard, see our post Signs Of Tree Root Damage & What To Do About It.
If you are dealing with tree root damage, it is possible to make your tree and landscape safe again, as we share in our post How To Save A Tree With Damaged Roots?
Sign 5: Fungal Growth at the Base of the Tree
Fungal growth around a tree is one of the clearest indicators of internal decay, and it should never be ignored. This is because fungi feed on decaying wood, and when they appear externally, it usually means that internal decay is already well established.
This internal decay often occurs inside the trunk or main roots, where it cannot be seen but seriously hinders the structural integrity of the tree as a whole. This is why fungus growth is one of the most dangerous tree signs and needs to be addressed promptly by a professional tree surgeon, like those on our team.
Fungi can appear as mushrooms growing from the soil near the trunk, growth on the root or trunks of the tree, or even clusters of fungi that appear seasonally along the base. While fungi themselves are not always harmful, their presence on or near a tree often signals a deeper issue as dangerous tree signs.
Some fungi growth appears due to tree diseases, which we explore in our post Common Tree Diseases.
If you notice any fungal growth around or on your trees, we’d strongly recommend arranging a site visit from our team, where we can assess the level of decay and determine whether remedial work or tree removal is necessary.
How Kneebone Trees Can Help
If you notice one or more of these dangerous tree signs, it is vital to call in professional arborists like our team. We are skilled and experienced in a range of tree care services, including tree surgery, inspections, removal, and stump removal, allowing us to provide the necessary care to your landscape.
You should never attempt DIY care for these dangerous tree signs, as you could make the issue worse and cause further damage. The best solution is to act fast, which can be done through regular tree surveys and inspections from our team.
To learn more about what we do and how we can help, see our post What Does a Tree Surgeon Do, and When Should You Hire One?
Conclusion
Winter can be a tough time for your trees, and these dangerous tree signs indicate that more support is needed. From exposed roots to damaged branches and leaning trunks, your tree can pose a significant hazard during the harsh winter weather and may require professional maintenance.
As leading tree surgeons, Kneebone Trees delivers a range of tree care services to homeowners across Devon, including regular inspections and surveys to prevent dangerous tree signs from developing in the first place. If you notice any of these signs or are concerned about trees in your area, we are here to help.
Contact Us Today
To learn more about our services or to request a site visit, contact us today.
FAQs
How can I tell if my tree is dangerous or just unhealthy?
An unhealthy tree may show signs like poor leaf growth or minor deadwood, but it can still be structurally stable. A dangerous tree, however, shows structural warning signs such as major cracks, a sudden lean, root movement, or fungal growth, which increase the risk of failure. As many serious defects are hidden inside the trunk or roots, a professional tree assessment is the safest way to determine whether a tree poses a real risk.
Is it my responsibility if a tree on my property causes damage?
In most cases, yes, as homeowners have a duty of care to ensure trees on their property are reasonably safe. If a tree causes damage or injury, and it can be shown that warning signs were ignored, the property owner may be held liable.
Should I have my trees checked before winter storms?
Yes, this is strongly recommended, especially in Devon’s storm-prone climate. Seasonal inspections before winter can identify weak, damaged, or unstable trees early, reducing the risk of storm-related failures. Addressing issues in advance is often safer and more cost-effective than dealing with emergency damage after a storm.
