Fall and winter are tough on weak trees

​Fall is a great time of year to remove trees. It’s also an important time to make sure that your trees are going to weather the cold parts of the year without becoming a danger to your family and your property.

​Fall is a great time of year to remove trees. It’s also an important time to make sure that your trees are going to weather the cold parts of the year without becoming a danger to your family and your property.
Harsh summers can weaken trees, while fall and winter can bring them down
When limbs or trunks fall, it’s rarely sudden or random. Trees are stubborn by nature, and it’s through gradual weakening over time that they eventually come down.
There are several events that can compromise the integrity of a tree. Most have to do with the natural turning of the seasons, particularly when summer or winter is abnormally harsh.
Fall brings storms and wind. Winter brings both, plus freezing weather and snow to boot. These are the conditions that make it hardest for trees to stay upright and limbs to stay attached. This is when it's most likely for a weak tree to fall.
But what weakens the tree in the first place? A while back we published a list of things that make trees dangerous, which you can see here.
During summer, the climate is friendly to pests and diseases. Additionally, when water is scarce, a tree has to budget its resources more strictly. What this means is that it has fewer resources to invest infighting off said pests and diseases.
The effects of drought also put a physical strain on the structure of the tree. All these factors together(sometimes over multiple years) serve to weaken the tree and ultimately bring it crashing down. This article by University of Massachusettes explains the effects of drought on trees.
2021 has been a particularly dry summer in WA state
Here in the Puget Sound area, we’re lucky to be in the wettest part of the “wet side” of the state. With the exception of Snohomish, Pierce and King counties, the entire state has been declared in drought.
It’s been a dry and unusually hot year, and the main reason our area isn’t officially in drought is because last winter brought an unusual amount of snow in the Cascades, and the snowpack has kept the region somewhat hydrated.
That doesn’t mean your trees haven’t felt the heat or lack of moisture, though. This short article describes how to detect the signs of drought in your trees.
September to October is a great time to remove trees
There are three reasons why now is a great time to remove your trees:

1. You’ll end up with leftover mulch for your fall garden projects
2. If you get your stump removed, too, you still have time to plant grass before winter
3. Removing trees now will keep your yard free of tree litter like leaves and cones this fall
4. Removing them now will prevent dangerous problems over the cold part of the year
For tree and stump removal in the Snohomish area, you can call on the local tree professionals at Snohomish Tree Company. To schedule an estimate, fill out our estimate form here.