What causes half the tree is dead and the other half looks fine?
Root loss on one side from a trench, driveway, sidewalk or utility bore is the most common finding, and it may have happened several seasons before the canopy responded. Also: a girdling root strangling one sector, a strip of cambium killed by lightning or by winter sunscald on the southwest face, a one-sided decay column, or a vascular wilt disease. Which of these it turns out to be changes the recommendation completely.
What you'd see
One side or the top bare while the rest leafs out normally, often with a surprisingly distinct vertical dividing line. Thinning and smaller, paler leaves on the affected side, sprouts erupting along the trunk below the dead section, and frequently a strip of dead, cracked or sunken bark running down the trunk on that same side.
Related
- Half the tree is dead and the other half looks fine — what should I do?→
- Is half the tree is dead and the other half looks fine an emergency?→
- Can half the tree is dead and the other half looks fine be fixed without removing the tree?→
- How long can I leave half the tree is dead and the other half looks fine before it becomes dangerous?→
- How much does it cost to deal with half the tree is dead and the other half looks fine?→
- The bark is falling off my tree — what should I do?→
- Is the bark is falling off my tree an emergency?→
- Can the bark is falling off my tree be fixed without removing the tree?→