The November Tree Walk: Checking Trees After Storm Season

Everyone thinks about trees in June, when the season starts, and in the week before a storm. Almost nobody thinks about them in November, and November is the best month of the year to do it. The season is over, the summer storms have shown you what is weak, the weather is comfortable, and every tree service in Volusia County has an open calendar.

Here is the walk we recommend every homeowner do at the end of the season, and what to do with what you find.

Why November

Three reasons. First, the trees just went through five months of afternoon thunderstorms and possibly a named storm, and the damage is visible now and hidden by spring. Second, work scheduled in late fall gets done in winter, which is the ideal window for structural pruning on hardwoods, as we explained in The Best Time of Year to Trim Trees in Florida. Third, you are as far from the next storm as you will ever be, so nothing is rushed.

Compare that to the June checklist, which is about triage. See Hurricane Tree Prep: The Volusia County Homeowner's Checklist.

What to look for

Walk the whole lot with your eyes up, then walk it again with your eyes down.

Hanging and broken limbs

Summer storms break limbs that do not fall. They hang in the canopy, held by bark or wedged in other branches, and they come down in the next wind, onto whatever is under them. Any broken limb still in the tree is a job for this month. See Hanging Limbs Are the Most Dangerous Thing in Your Yard After a Storm.

Deadwood

Dead limbs are easier to spot in fall on deciduous trees as the live foliage thins, and on live oaks they stand out against the dark canopy year-round. Deadwood over the house, the driveway or the pool cage is the priority.

New leans

A tree that leaned before is one thing. A tree that leans more than it did in May, or has cracked or mounded soil on the side away from the lean, moved during the summer. That is an assessment call, not a wait-and-see. See My Tree Is Leaning.

Cracks

Look at the big unions where main stems fork. A crack, a seam that has opened, or fresh bark splitting at a union means the union was loaded past its limit in a storm and did not fully fail. It will next time.

Bark and trunk damage

Lightning strikes leave a strip of blown-off bark. Wind can twist bark loose. Limbs that broke out can leave torn wounds down the trunk. Any of those is worth noting, and a strike is worth watching over the winter; see Your Tree Got Struck by Lightning.

Fungus

Fall is when a lot of decay fungi produce their fruiting bodies. Conks on the trunk, mushrooms at the base, shelf fungi on a limb: all of them are telling you where the decay is. See Mushrooms at the Base of Your Tree.

Palms

Look at the crown. A palm that lost its spear or has a crown that looks stunted or off-center after the summer may have bud damage. Palms are also where lethal bronzing shows in fall, as the lower fronds go bronze and die upward.

Root zones

Look down. Standing water that did not drain, soil that washed away from the root flare, mulch that got piled up by a landscaper, ruts from equipment during a summer project. All of those affect the roots, and the tree will show it next year.

The neighbor's trees

Look over the fence. A dead pine on the neighbor's side that leans toward your roof is your problem in the practical sense, and November is a good month for a polite conversation. See Neighbor Trees, Overhanging Limbs and HOA Rules.

What to do with the list

Sort it into three piles.

Now: hanging limbs, new leans, cracked unions, deadwood over a target, any tree that looks like it might not make it to spring. Call this month.

This winter: structural pruning, crown cleaning on trees that are fine but overdue, cabling a valuable tree with a correctable defect, and removals of declining trees that are not immediate hazards. Schedule now for January through March.

Spring: root zone work, mulching, decompaction, and anything that benefits from the tree being in active growth. Put it on the calendar.

That sequence gets everything done before June with no rush, at normal rates, in good weather. It is the whole argument of A Maintenance Plan Beats Emergency Calls.

Frequently asked questions

Can I skip the walk if nothing hit us this year?

Every summer in Volusia County has thunderstorms, and thunderstorms break limbs. A quiet hurricane season is not a quiet season for trees.

Is November too late to prune?

No. Deadwood and hazards come out anytime. Structural pruning is best from about January into early spring, and November is when to book it.

Should I have an arborist do the walk?

If you have large trees near the house and you are not sure what you are looking at, yes. It is a modest cost and the assessment tells you what actually needs work and what does not.

What about the palms' hurricane cut?

Do not. Remove dead fronds and seed pods only. The hurricane cut weakens palms and it does nothing for storm resistance. See The Hurricane Cut Is Hurting Your Palms.

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ArboristRX does end-of-season assessments and winter pruning across Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach, Port Orange, Oak Hill and Volusia County. Call (386) 444-5959 in November and beat the spring rush.