Are your trees healthy? Nature let go its fury this winter, sending tons of snow, torrential rains and gusting winds. Trees can suffer extensive damage during such a season and can become hazardous. They also can become unhealthy due to sever weather conditions, especially prolonged freezing, flooding or drought. Storm-damaged trees can be a threat to life, home vehicles and other personal property. Property owners could be held responsible for any damage or personal injury caused by a tree on their property. Homeowners have beautiful healthy trees, because they are valuable and pleasant to look at.

Right now is a good time to inspect trees for structural hazards, since the trees are bare and the whole structure can be viewed. Some of the warning signs to look for:

• Wire in contact with tree branches. Trees may become energized when they are contacted by electric wires, or telephone wires in contact with electric wires.
• Cracked stems and branch forks.
• Broken limbs and tree tops that may be hanging, or lodged in the tree.
• Hollow or decayed areas on the trunk or main limbs, or mushrooms growing from the bark.
• Peeling bark or gaping wounds in the trunk.
• Fallen or uprooted trees putting pressure on other trees beneath them.

Spring and summer give us the best opportunities to identity tree health problems, since a cursory inspection can tell whether a tree "looks" healthy compared to previous years or other nearby trees of the same species. Diagnosis of the actual cause of the tree malady is a tricky business best left to an expert. As with human illness, prompt detection and treatment can be critical. If you are unsure whether your tree is healthy or can withstand the next storm, consult a professional arborist who will identity and remove hazards as well as treat the causes of tree health problems.

It is that time of year when storms in all shapes and forms are ready to create havoc throughout the country. A big loss, is of the tree itself, which was the pride of your garden. One of the greatest dangers posed by storms are presented by trees. Unsafe trees are a threat to lives and property.

Preparing trees for these natural disasters is a must and should be done well in advance of the stormy season. To help ease these dangers, have a professional arborist evaluate your trees. Doing this will help you determine potential weaknesses and dangers.

Over the years, growing trees will "catch" more wind and become heavier, so they are prone to increased mechanical stresses, thus increasing the chances of failure. Larger trees will also affect an increased area should they or their larger limbs fall. This means that power lines, homes and other structures that might not have been threatened a few years ago, might suddenly be under threat by a tree that has grown.

What can you do?

• Consult a Tree Care Professional: Ask the arborist to evaluate problems you have found and prioritize treatment. You should also ask the arborist to look for signs of potential hazards, such as stress cracks, weal branches and other subtle or hidden indicators of potential hazards.

Look at your trees for the following warning signs:

• Wires in contact with tree branches. Trees may become energized when they are contacted by electric wires.
• Dead or partially attached limbs hung up in the higher branches that could fall and cause damage or injury.
• Cracked stems and branch forks that could cause catastrophic failure of a tree section.
• Hollow or decayed areas on the trunk or main limbs, or mushrooms growing from the bark that indicate a decayed and weakened stem.
• Peeling bark or gaping wounds in the trunk, also indicate structural weakness.
• Fallen or uprooted trees pitting pressure on other trees beneath them.
• Tight, V-shaped forks which are much more prone to failure than open U-shaped ones.
• Heaving soil at the tree base, is a potential indicator of an unsound root system.

Remember, too, that a tree is a living thing, and its integrity and stability changes over time, so don't assume that a tree that has survived 10 severe storms will be necessarily survive an eleventh.

If you are unsure about your trees health, consult a professional arborist who will identify and remove hazards as well a treat the causes of tree health problems.