Spring 2004

Trees vulnerable to wind damage (wood splitting, cracking): ash . . . catalpa . . . Siberian elm . . . empress tree . . . hickory . . . horsechestnut . . . bradford pear . . . poplar . . . red maple . . . silk tree . . . tuliptree . . . yellowwood.

Trees damaged by lightning because of high starch content: elm . . . maple . . . oak . . . pine . . . poplar . . . spruce . . . tulip poplar.

Trees victimized by hurricanes: white pine . . . Japanese pine . . . hemlock . . . juniper . . . elm . . . magnolia . . . Norway maple . . . sugar maple . . . tulip poplar . . . tupelo.

Trees damaged by salt splashed from winter roads: beech . . . birch . . . hemlock . . . red pine . . . sugar maple . . . white pine.

Risky trees for most landscapes: silver maple . . . black cherry . . . boxelder maple . . . cotoneaster . . . willow.

Best indicators of trees having root decay: thin crown of the tree, also serious twig dieback.

Decay is involved to some degree in most tree failures. If homeowners fail to correct tree problems and do not maintain healthy trees through annual fertilization, they run the risk of trees toppling in a hurricane or windstorm.