All summer, a full canopy of leaves does a great job of hiding problems. Over the next several weeks, as oaks, maples, and tulip poplars across Metro Atlanta start dropping their leaves, a lot of homeowners are going to look up and notice bare, brittle limbs they never saw in July.
Dead wood is easiest to spot right at the start of leaf drop, while healthy branches still hold some color and dead ones stand out as gray, bark-peeling, or twig-free. Limbs over roofs, driveways, decks, and play areas deserve the closest look, since dead branches get lighter and more brittle through the winter and are the first to come down in a gusty front or an ice event.
Our ISA Certified Arborists use this window to separate normal self-pruning of small interior twigs from larger dead limbs that point to root stress, decay, or disease. Removing dead wood now is simple, targeted work, and it gives us a clear look at the rest of the tree's structure while we're up there.
As the leaves come down on your street this month, is there a limb over your house or driveway you've already started watching?
#AtlantaTreeCare #ISACertifiedArborist
A real photo from a Boutte Tree job of a bare, gray dead limb standing out against a canopy that is just starting to turn, ideally over a roofline or driveway. A climber removing a dead limb works well as a second image. Authentic job photos far outperform stock images.
Canva text suggestion: "Leaf Drop Reveals the Dead Limbs Overhead" or "Spot Dead Wood Before Winter Does"