Tree Symptom Identification Guide
Something wrong with your tree? Start with the symptom you see. Each guide explains what it means, the most likely causes, which trees are affected, how urgent it is, and exactly what to do next.
🍂 Leaf Symptoms
Leaves Turning Yellow on Trees
Yellowing leaves (chlorosis) indicate the leaf is not producing enough chlorophyll. This can be caused by nutrient deficiencies, poor drainage, root d...
Leaves Turning Brown on Trees
Brown leaves signal that leaf tissue has died. The pattern of browning is the key diagnostic clue: brown edges (leaf scorch from drought or salt), bro...
Leaves Dropping Early from Trees
Premature leaf drop is a tree's emergency response to stress. When a tree cannot supply enough water or nutrients to its full canopy, it sheds leaves ...
Wilting Leaves in Summer
Wilting occurs when leaves lose water faster than roots can replace it, causing cells to lose turgor pressure. In summer, the most critical distinctio...
Black Spots on Tree Leaves
Black spots on tree leaves are almost always caused by fungal diseases. The good news: most leaf spot diseases are cosmetic and do not significantly h...
White Powder on Tree Leaves
A white, powdery coating on leaves is powdery mildew, one of the most recognizable and widespread plant diseases. Unlike most fungal diseases, powdery...
Sticky Residue on Leaves or Cars Under Trees
Sticky residue on leaves, cars, decks, and surfaces under trees is honeydew — the sugary excrement of sap-sucking insects. It is not tree sap. The mos...
🪵 Trunk & Bark Symptoms
Bark Peeling or Splitting on Trees
Bark protects the tree's living tissues from disease, insects, and weather. When bark peels or splits, the cause determines the urgency. Some species ...
Holes in Tree Trunk or Branches
Holes in tree trunks can be caused by boring insects, woodpeckers, or decay. Boring insects are the most concerning — they tunnel through the wood tha...
Sawdust at Base of Tree
Sawdust (technically called frass) at the base of a tree is almost always a sign that something is excavating wood inside the trunk or roots. The most...
Oozing Sap or Bleeding Cankers on Trees
Oozing or bleeding from tree bark has several causes. Bacterial wetwood (slime flux) produces foul-smelling, dark ooze from wounds or branch stubs — i...
Cracks in Trees After Winter
Cracks that appear on tree trunks during or after winter are typically caused by frost cracks or sunscald. Frost cracks are vertical splits caused by ...
🌳 Whole-Tree Symptoms
Mushrooms or Fungus Growing at Base of Tree
Mushrooms and bracket fungi (conks) growing at the base of a tree are the fruiting bodies of wood-decay organisms that have been decomposing the tree'...
Dead Branches at Top of Tree
Dead branches at the top of the tree, called crown dieback or stagheading, indicates the tree's root system or vascular system can no longer support t...
Tree Leaning Suddenly
A tree that has suddenly developed a new lean is a potential emergency. Unlike trees that have grown leaning for years (which have adapted their struc...
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