Birmingham doesn’t get much snow, but it does get ice, and ice is harder on trees. Freezing rain coats every twig and branch, and across a large canopy that added weight builds up fast. Limbs that held up fine all summer can snap overnight. Add saturated winter soil and a little wind, and whole trees can go over.
The trees that fail in those storms usually had problems you could have spotted from the ground months earlier. Late fall is the best time to look, because the leaves are coming off and you can finally see the structure.
What to Look For
Walk the yard and look up. Start with anything that could land on the house, the driveway, a fence, or a spot where people walk.
Dead branches. Dead wood is brittle and snaps under load. It’s easy to pick out right now: bare limbs on a tree that’s otherwise still holding leaves, or bark peeling away from the wood.
Tight V-shaped forks. When a trunk splits into two stems of similar size at a narrow angle, bark can get pinched inside the joint. Arborists call it included bark, and it keeps the two stems from growing solid wood between them. It’s one of the most common places trees split under ice.
Cracks and splits. Look for vertical cracks in the trunk or where large limbs attach. A deep crack is a serious weakness.
Mushrooms or conks at the base. Fungus growing on the trunk or roots often means decay inside. A tree can look healthy up top while the base hollows out.
New lean or lifting soil. Plenty of trees lean for decades without trouble. A lean that’s new, or soil cracked and raised on the opposite side, suggests the roots are letting go.
Construction damage. If the root zone was trenched or paved over for a driveway, utility line, or addition in the last few years, the tree may be declining from root loss before it shows.
Species That Break More Often
Some trees are simply more prone to storm damage. Several state extensions list the Bradford pear, river birch, water oak, silver maple, Leyland cypress, pecan, willow, green ash, and lacebark elm among the weak-wooded trees most likely to be damaged by wind, snow, and ice.
Bradford pear is the one to watch most closely. Its branches grow upward at tight angles, which produces included bark at nearly every major fork. As the tree gets bigger, those joints carry more weight than they were built for.
If you have Leyland cypress, check it for bagworms while you’re at it.
On the other side, state extensions list crape myrtle, bald cypress, hickory, ginkgo, and white oak among the trees that hold up better. For upright evergreens that tend to splay under ice, hollies like Nellie Stevens or Oakleaf holly are suggested instead. This is worth knowing if you’re replacing something this fall.
What to Do About It
Take out the dead wood. Removing dead limbs is the single most useful thing you can do before winter. It gets rid of what’s most likely to fall and keeps it from tearing healthy wood down on the way.
Clear the roof. Limbs touching or hanging just over the house should be cut back. Even when an ice-loaded branch doesn’t break, it can sag onto shingles and gutters.
Leave power lines alone. Never prune near a power line. Trees in contact with lines are the utility’s to handle, so call Alabama Power.
Don’t top trees. Cutting a tree back to stubs produces a crop of weak new shoots that break even more easily in the next storm.
Get help with the big ones. For large trees, anything that looks decayed, or anything that would hit the house if it fell, contact Steven’s Wack-n-Sack. We’ll take a look and tell you what needs to happen, so you’re not making that call from the bottom of a ladder.
Why Late Fall and Winter
Most trees are dormant from late fall through winter, which makes it a good window for structural pruning. You can see every branch without leaves in the way, and the tree isn’t pouring energy into new growth.
One exception: spring bloomers like dogwood, redbud, and azalea have already set next year’s flower buds. Take out dead or hazardous wood now, but save any shaping until after they bloom.
Don’t Forget the Ground
Trees in soggy soil are more likely to uproot, because saturated ground can’t hold roots in place. If water sits around the base of your trees after rain, our post on fixing drainage before winter covers what to do about it. And if a problem tree needs replacing, fall is the best time to plant something sturdier.
Get a Second Set of Eyes
If you’re not sure what you’re looking at, have someone walk the property with you before the weather turns. Steven’s Wack-n-Sack provides landscaping services for residential properties across Birmingham, Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Alabaster, Pelham, Helena, Chelsea, and the surrounding area. Contact us before the first cold snap.
