When Your Tree Leaves It Late: Why Your Tree Still Hasn't Bloomed in Spring
Posted on: 20 November 2019
Has your tree left it a little late to start blooming this year? Then, understandably, you must be worried about its health. Deciduous trees in Australia should begin to bloom in September, but not all species will flower at the same time. However, if spring is already underway, and your tree still isn't showing any signs of life, it might be suffering.
If your deciduous tree still hasn't produced any blossoms yet this spring, check for the following signs of life.
Healthy Buds
In spring, deciduous trees or those that lose their leaves in autumn, produce blossoms before their leaves appear. This is so insects like bees can help them to reproduce. And, unless your tree is an evergreen variety like a pencil pine, for instance, it should produce these blossoms at some point. If your tree still hasn't produced blossoms, look for the buds that will soon become those blossoms.
A healthy tree's branches should have an abundance of plump green buds that are soft when you squeeze them gently. If there are no buds on your tree, or only on part of your tree, your tree could be dying. If the buds on your tree's branches are dead, and dry and brittle to the touch, then something, possibly disease or drought, has affected it recently.
Healthy Branches
Have you heard of the scratch test? Arborists use this simple test to ascertain if trees are healthy and vital or not. Scratch off a small section of the bark on one of your tree's smaller branches. If the underlying layer is green and moist, that branch is healthy. If, however, the underlying material is white and dry, then that branch is probably dead.
If a branch lacks buds and is dry and brittle, it is dead.
Multiple Dead Branches and No Buds Is a Bad Sign
Unfortunately, if your tree's branches have no buds, and they are dry and brittle when you perform the scratch test, your tree is either dying or already dead. In winter, trees go dormant, but in the spring, the food and energy reserves they store in their roots should be enough for them to bloom again.
If a tree doesn't bloom then, it either didn't take in enough food due to drought, disease or damage, or it was already dead. Either way, consider hiring an arborist to assess your tree. If your tree has died or is dying, it will become dry and brittle. When this happens, the chances of it falling over in bad weather increase greatly. In this case, you should consider removing it.
To learn more about tree removal and knowing when a tree has died, contact an arborist in your area.
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