Ask the Expert

When should I have my trees inspected, trimmed?

A reader wonders about the large trees around her house.
A reader wonders about the large trees around her house.

The recent storms have me wondering about the trees around my home. I have a large pine in my front yard, an oak in the back and my neighbor has a massive oak tree with branches directly over my home. Some of its leaves are starting to touch my roof and I'm wondering what kind of maintenance or trimming, if any, this tree might need. The tree appears to be healthy and I don't see any obvious dead limbs. What are some of the signs when I need to call in a tree professional?

"It sounds like what's needed in this case is a sprucing up or a little maintenance to get some limbs away from the home's roof and possibly away from some power lines," says Terry James, owner of James Tree Service of North Little Rock. "Most of the time, there's a three- to four-year cycle between trimming and regrowth, he explains.

"Some customers call me every year while others call me as needed," says James, whose father founded the business 50 years ago. "But I would recommend that those with large trees in their yards have an inspection done every two to four years."

When James' crew of two to three employees inspect a customer's trees, they check the trees' roots and look for ganoderma, a type of polypore mushroom that grows on wood. Ganoderma, more commonly known as shelf mushroom or bracket fungi, can grow on living or dead trees in the shape of a fan and include about 80 species.

In addition to checking for ganoderma, his crew also visually inspects the entire tree, especially the top of it, looking for signs of disease.

"Every tree I check is usually going to have some type of dead wood -- which is normal -- and I remove those limbs before they fall," James says. "But when you see it at the very top or crown of the tree, that indicates a problem."

The sap flows up the tree and when it's not flowing properly, the tree will begin to die from the top down, he explains.

"It's kind of like the blood that flows through our body and it has to have proper circulation."

"Every tree I've seen that's fallen has had some kind of problem with rot," James says. "When you have something like a hollow tree with a hole in the side of it where animals can crawl up the inside, that also indicates a problem. You will often see something like that in the city near a sidewalk or driveway where the tree has been hit by a car and damaged.

"The No. 1 fear in my profession when I encounter a dead tree is wondering how long the tree has been dead," he said. "Because if it goes past two to three years, it's a danger."

While some homeowners may be tempted to procrastinate when it comes to dealing with a dead tree, that's not a good idea.

"Don't neglect dead trees," James warns. "That will be considered neglect and when it does fall, homeowners' insurance won't cover the costs of any damage; instead it will be the homeowner's responsibility."

Do you have a decorating or remodeling question? We'll get you an answer from an authority. Send your question to Linda S. Haymes, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203 or email:

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HomeStyle on 06/27/2015

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