Tree Health Checks & Disease Diagnosis Newcastle

Arborist Recommendations

Worried a tree’s dying, sick or becoming dangerous?
A qualified arborist can assess its health and tell you honestly whether to keep it, treat it, prune it back, or remove it.
We’ve been reading trees across Newcastle and the Hunter since 1998, and a proper health check often catches a problem while there’s still time to act, or confirms a tree’s become a risk before it drops a limb on something.

Signs your tree might be in trouble

You don’t need to diagnose it yourself, but these are the things that should prompt a call:

• Dead or bare canopy when the rest of the tree, or neighbouring trees, are in leaf
• Mushrooms or fungal brackets growing at the base or on the trunk (often a sign of internal decay)
• Bark splitting, peeling or falling away in patches
• A new or worsening lean, especially after a storm
• Deadwood: dry, brittle branches with no leaves
• Holes and fine sawdust on the trunk (borer activity)
• Leaves discolouring or dropping well out of season

What a health assessment involves

We do a proper visual inspection of the whole tree (canopy, trunk, base and the root zone), looking for decay, pests, structural defects and anything that points to a tree under stress. We’re checking two things: how healthy the tree actually is, and whether it’s safe to keep where it is.

Common problems we see in the Hunter Region

• Borer in eucalypts: especially trees already stressed by drought or heat
• Root and butt rot (fungal decay at the base): often the cause of an otherwise healthy-looking tree failing
• Storm and drought stress: our climate puts trees under real pressure
• Decay from old, bad pruning cuts: including trees that were lopped years ago

What happens after the assessment

You get a straight answer and your options:

• Keep and monitor: the tree’s fine, here’s what to watch
• Treat or manage: address the issue and give the tree the best chance
• Prune: remove deadwood or reduce weight to make it safe
• Remove: sometimes a tree’s too far gone or too risky to keep, and we’ll tell you when that’s the case

We won’t promise to save a tree that can’t be saved, but we’ll give you the honest picture so you can decide.

Where we work

Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock, Port Stephens and the wider Hunter region.

Worried about a tree? Call (02) 4956 6602 for a health assessment.