You do not need a qualification to spot most of the things that matter on a garden tree. Walk round it twice, once close in at the base and the trunk, once from twenty metres back with the whole crown against the sky, and do it in summer with the leaves out and again in winter without them. The ten signs below are what a tree surgeon looks at first, and any of them is a reason to get an opinion. Three of them, a fungal bracket at the base, a fresh crack in a main fork and a lifted root plate, are reasons to make the call this week rather than next winter.
This guide is general information, not a substitute for an inspection.
1. Fungal brackets or toadstools at the base
The most important twenty seconds of the whole check. Bracket fungi on the trunk near ground level, or toadstools around the base and over the root area, mean fungal activity in the structural wood or the roots. The tree can look green and full and still be losing the part that holds it up.
Honey fungus is the one most people have heard of. The RHS calls it the most destructive fungal disease in UK gardens, and the signs are a white or creamy, paper-thin sheet of fungal tissue between bark and wood at ground level, black or brown bootlace-like rhizomorphs in the soil, and honey-coloured mushrooms appearing briefly on infected stumps in autumn (RHS: honey fungus). No mushrooms does not mean no fungus. Urgent where the tree stands over a house, a road, a path or somewhere people sit.
2. Cavities, and a hollow sound
Open cavities, unsealed wounds, woodpecker holes and soft or crumbling wood are all worth noting, and so is the sound: tap round the base with a hammer handle and listen for the note changing from solid to drummy. Hollowness on its own is not a death sentence, because strength in a stem comes largely from the outer wood and plenty of ancient trees are hollow and perfectly stable. What matters is how much sound wood is left and where the cavity sits. Get an opinion, especially if it is at a fork or near the base.
3. Bark loss, bleeding or oozing
Look for bark that is missing, loose, cracked or peeling in sheets, and for dark wet patches, staining or foam running down the trunk. A maple weeping from a pruning cut in March is usually nothing. A dark, sour-smelling seep from a split at the base of a mature tree is not. Strimmer, bumper and scaffold damage matters more than it looks, because the tissue that moves sugars round the tree sits just under the bark, and a ring of damage right round a stem kills everything above it.
4. A sudden lean, or a lifted root plate
A tree that has always leaned is usually fine; it has grown reaction wood to suit. A tree that has started to lean is a different matter. On the side away from the lean, look for cracked or heaved turf, a soil crack following the line of the root plate, or a gap opening between trunk and ground. Compare with old photographs, and use a fence post or a downpipe to judge whether the angle has changed. Urgent. A moving root plate is the classic precursor to whole-tree failure, and it does not need a storm to finish the job.
5. Cracks in major forks
Where two big stems meet, look at the join. A tight V-shaped union with bark squeezed into it, known as included bark, is weaker than an open U-shaped one, because the stems push against each other rather than growing together. A crack running down from such a union, a seam of exposed wood, or a gap that has opened since last year is a serious finding. Binoculars help. Urgent if the crack is fresh, open or over a target.
6. Deadwood in the crown
Some dead twigs inside a crown are normal as the tree sheds shaded growth. What is not normal is dead wood at the outer edges and the top, dead branches thicker than an arm, or a dead leader standing above the live crown, and dead branches fall without warning and without wind. Over a garden with nothing under it, deadwood is good habitat and can stay. Over a patio, a driveway or a pavement it wants removing, which is a crown clean rather than a reduction and sits at the cheaper end of the price card.
7. Unseasonal leaf loss or a sparse crown
Compare your tree with the same species elsewhere on the street. Smaller leaves than usual, paler colour, autumn colour in August, thin patches you can see sky through, or a crown that leafs out later each spring all point to something wrong below. On ash, a thinning crown with blackened shoots and tufts of growth on the trunk is the standard picture of ash dieback. The RHS lists a sparse, pale crown and sudden dieback in hot dry weather among the above-ground signs of honey fungus.
8. Rubbing, crossing or overextended limbs
Branches that cross and rub wear through the bark and open a wound that never gets a chance to seal. Look for limbs grown well beyond the outline of the crown, limbs with a heavy end load of foliage and nothing supporting them, and limbs that have visibly dropped since last year. The answer is usually a modest end-weight reduction rather than taking the limb off. See crown reduction vs pollarding vs topping for why how it is cut matters as much as whether.
9. Roots damaged by building works or trenching
This is the sign that turns up two or three years late. A tree that lost a third of its roots to a new patio or a service run may look untouched at the time, then decline steadily or become unstable while still looking healthy. Note any excavation, trenching or new hard surfacing within the spread of the branches, soil heaped over the root area, compaction from a skip or a digger, and severed roots thicker than a wrist. Write down when the work happened: that date is the most useful thing you can give an arboriculturist. Where the concern runs the other way, cracks in the house rather than damage to the tree, read tree roots and house foundations first, because felling can make matters worse.
10. Ivy hiding the defects
Ivy is valuable for wildlife, but a trunk sheathed in it cannot be inspected. Brackets, cavities, cracks, bleeding and bark loss are all invisible underneath, and heavy ivy adds weight and wind resistance in winter. The usual approach is to sever the stems at the base and leave the top to die back, which lets you see the trunk without tearing bark away. Do it before an inspection rather than after, and check for nesting birds and bat roosts first.
What is urgent and what can wait
Call this week: a fungal bracket at the base of a tree over a target; a lifted or cracking root plate; a fresh crack in a major fork; a hanging or broken limb; anything near overhead cables; any of the above after a storm, for which see storm-damaged tree: who is responsible and what to do.
Book for the dormant season: deadwood removal, end-weight reduction, ivy severing, crown cleaning and any reduction that is about size rather than safety. The reasoning is in best time of year for tree work.
Watch and photograph: an old lean that has not changed, a sealed cavity over nothing, minor bark damage. Date the photographs and repeat every six months. A defect that is changing matters far more than one that has looked the same for a decade.
When to get a report rather than a quote
A quote prices work someone has already decided is needed. A report tells you what the tree is doing and whether that work is the right answer. Pay for a report when the tree is protected and the council wants justification, when there is a dispute with a neighbour, an insurer or a developer, when the tree is implicated in damage to a building, when it comes up on a survey during a sale, or when two contractors have told you completely different things. The Arboricultural Association keeps a Registered Consultant directory of individuals assessed for qualifications and experience who write reports for homeowners, planners and the courts. See also tree surgeon vs gardener vs landscaper and how to check if a tree has a TPO.
What the work costs, and getting it checked
Indicative ranges from our price card, waste included.
| Job | Small (under 5m) | Medium (5–10m) | Large (10–15m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pruning, crown lift or crown thin | £180–£280 | £280–£400 | £400–£600 |
| Crown reduction | £220–£300 | £320–£480 | £480–£750 |
| Tree removal | £280–£380 | £480–£720 | £850–£1,400 |
| Stump ground out at the same visit | +£70 | +£100 | +£150 |
There is a £150 job minimum, and anything over £1,200, over 15m, over a road, near cables or touching a building goes to a free survey first.
We are an introducer: we pass your enquiry to one vetted local tree surgeon who covers your area, and they confirm a fixed price. Start with tree surgeon prices in Birmingham, or crown reduction and the crown reduction cost guide if the tree is staying, or tree removal and the tree removal cost guide if it is not. Read what to photograph for a tree quote first.
Questions
How often should I check my trees?
Twice a year covers most gardens: once in summer with the crown in leaf, once in winter when the branch structure is visible. Also check after any severe storm, and after any building work, trenching or resurfacing near the roots. Take dated photographs each time, because the comparison is what tells you whether something is changing.
Does a hollow tree need to come down?
Not automatically. Strength in a stem comes largely from the outer wood, so many hollow trees are stable and some ancient trees are almost entirely hollow. What matters is how much sound wood remains, where the cavity sits, and what the tree could hit if it failed. That is an assessment for an arboriculturist rather than something to judge by eye.
Is ivy killing my tree?
Ivy is not a parasite and does not take water or nutrients from the tree. The real problems are that it hides defects from inspection and adds weight and wind resistance in winter. Severing the stems at the base and leaving the top to die back is the usual approach, after checking for nesting birds and bats.
What is the difference between a tree report and a quote?
A quote prices work someone has already decided is needed, and is usually free. A report is a paid professional assessment of the tree's condition and what, if anything, should be done, written so an insurer, a council or a court can rely on it. Get a report when the tree is protected, disputed, implicated in damage, or when two contractors disagree.