Explaining how trees react to stress can be difficult. Trees may take years to react, or show signs, of past damage. Symptoms of construction activities can take up to 8 years to reveal themselves. This fact can leave many people skeptical of we arborists. How can a seemingly healthy tree suddenly, and for no perceived good reason, start falling into decline?
The following small scale example attempts to illustrate how tree stress takes time to manifest. A willow oak sapling was cut in the 2nd week of June in Charlotte, NC. Let's see what happens:
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| 0.5 hours after being cut on a warm summer day in the afternoon. The tree still looks green and healthy. |
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About 25 hours after being cut, still green with little signs of stress.
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51 hours after being cut, the tree is beginning to wilt and the leaf edges are beginning to brown.
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| 75 hours after being cut the tree is almost completely necrotic, though the twigs are still pliable. |
Larger trees, with less extreme but compound stresses, take time to show symptoms of damage. The tree in the above example was dead on day 1, but it took 3 days to show it. When diagnosing tree problems, a detailed knowledge of site history can be crucial when developing a tree care plan.
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