The aftermath of a severe storm can leave your home’s trees in tatters. It’s crucial to assess the damage accurately during the cleanup. Separate what needs scrapping from what is salvageable.

Below, we’ll discuss the determining factors used to differentiate what stays and what goes.

Landscape Evaluation

Before establishing a tree’s overall health, a storm may present an opportunity to determine how you feel about it. Ask yourself these questions.

✅ Do you like the overall appearance and location of the tree?

✅ Is it near powerlines, providing a potential hazard?

✅ Does it attract wildlife that you appreciate or dislike?

Assuming that you want to keep it, here’s how to determine the damage.

Signs of Tree Damage

We first must look at the significance of the tree damage.

✅ Is at least half of the tree still intact?

✅ Is the main ascending branch, also known as the leader, in place?

✅ Are there wounds to other major limbs?

✅ Is there significant bark missing, leaving it vulnerable to infestation or disease?

If the damage appears minimal, cleared by modest trimming, the tree’s a keeper. 🌳

When is it Time to Let One Go?

When less than 50 percent of a tree remains, a bare-bones trunk, without the benefits of foliage, won’t survive and thrive.

Young trees tend to be more resilient; however, some may not yet be strong enough to overcome the damage.

Similarly, damage to older trees may reveal previously hidden defects or diseases leading to dead tree limbs.

❌ These are all indications that it could be time to cut your losses.

When to Call a Tree Expert

However, not all cases will be, for lack of better terms, cut and dry. Some remain too close to call and could require professional evaluation or given additional time to recover. A component of that recovery is not overdoing the pruning process.

When a heavy storm rumbles through, it can shake and, unfortunately, alter your property, forcing reevaluations of the landscape.

Contact B&B Tree Service in South Jersey, and we’ll help you figure out the proper course of action that mends your property.