Conducting a Tree Health Assessment: How to Spot Deadwood and Structural Issues After Your Tree Leafs Out

June is the window most homeowners miss. When your trees reach full leaf, the canopy quietly reveals everything winter kept out of sight: bare limbs that never came back, heavy branches bending at angles they should not, and structural problems that were invisible against a bare sky. A proper tree health assessment does not require a ladder or a chainsaw, and the most important parts of it happen from the ground.

Why June Changes What You Can See

Full leaf-out is not just a sign that spring is over: it is the most reliable diagnostic window of the entire year for spotting tree problems that were invisible just weeks before.

For most of the year, a damaged or dying tree limb blends into the canopy. In winter, everything looks bare. In early spring, you are watching for signs of life rather than signs of trouble. It is only when the full canopy fills in that the problems stand out: a bare patch where leaves should be, a branch hanging at an odd angle under the weight of new growth, a section of crown that is noticeably thinner than the rest.

A tree health assessment timed to full leaf-out in June gives you the most information available without leaving the ground. The contrast between a healthy, leafed-out branch and a dead one is stark and easy to read. This is the single best time of year to walk your property and take stock of what your trees are actually telling you, and it is a window that closes once summer heat and growth begin to obscure the early signs of decline.

What to Look Up At: Reading the Canopy From the Ground

The canopy is where most deadwood and structural problems show up first. You do not need to be a certified arborist to recognize the signs, but you do need to know what to look for. Work through the following during any tree health assessment.

Bare Limbs in a Full Canopy

Dead tree branches are the most visible finding in a June canopy walk. A limb that has not leafed out while everything around it is full and green is almost certainly dead or in serious decline. Look for limbs at any height that are bare, brittle-looking, or carrying only sparse, yellowed leaves while neighboring branches are dense. The higher up in the canopy the dead limb is, the more urgency there is to have a professional assess it, since large dead limbs at height are unpredictable and can fail without warning.

Poor Branch Attachments and Hanging Angles

Look for branches that appear to be pulling away from the trunk or hanging at a noticeably downward angle that differs from the natural form of the tree. V-shaped branch unions, where two limbs meet at a tight angle with visible bark included between them, are a common structural weakness that is much easier to spot once the leaves add weight to the branches. A limb that was borderline in winter may become clearly problematic in June simply because of the added load of full foliage.

Crown Dieback and Uneven Density

Stand back and look at the tree as a whole. A healthy tree fills out relatively evenly across its crown. Sections of the crown that are noticeably thinner, shorter, or lower-growing than the rest of the canopy may indicate internal decay, root stress, or pest activity that has not yet caused visible branch death. Crown dieback is often the first signal of a larger problem developing inside the tree.

What to Look For at the Trunk

While the canopy provides the most immediate visual information, the base of the tree tells a different story. A complete tree health assessment includes a careful look at the trunk and root zone from the ground.

Look for these signs at trunk level during your inspection:

Cracks or Splits in the Trunk: Vertical cracks running along the bark can indicate internal decay or structural failure in progress. Horizontal cracks deserve immediate professional attention.
Fungal Growth or Conks: Mushrooms, shelf fungi, or bracket-shaped growths at the base of the trunk or along major roots are a strong indicator of internal wood decay.
Bulges or Sunken Areas: A bulge in the bark can signal a wound that has not healed properly or internal decay creating pressure. Sunken areas often mark old injuries.
Soil Lifting Around the Base: Soil that is heaving or cracking in a ring around the root zone can indicate root failure, particularly after heavy rain or storm stress.
Epicormic Shoots: A cluster of small, fast-growing sprouts shooting from the base of the trunk or from major limbs is a stress response. Trees send out these shoots when they are struggling, and their presence is a reason to investigate further.

Contact us today to schedule a tree inspection with one of our ISA-certified arborists and start devising a plan to protect your trees this season.

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What to Do When You Spot a Problem

Identifying a problem during your tree health assessment is the first step, but knowing how to respond to it without making things worse is just as important.

Start With a Professional Evaluation

A ground-level tree health assessment tells you where to look; it does not tell you everything about what you are looking at. Once you have identified bare limbs, structural concerns, or trunk-level warning signs, the next step is a professional evaluation before any work is done.

Know the Limits of DIY Pruning

Removing dead branches at accessible heights is a reasonable task for some homeowners, but anything large, overhead, near a structure, or requiring an elevated position should be handled by a professional. Improper cuts on structural limbs can accelerate decay and create new failure points, and working at height without the right equipment and training is one of the most common causes of serious injury on residential properties.

When Pruning Is Not Enough

If the assessment reveals significant deadwood throughout the canopy, a certified arborist can evaluate the full extent of the problem and recommend whether tree trimming and pruning can address it or whether larger structural removal is warranted. For trees that are too far in decline to save, professional tree removal services are the safe option and are far less disruptive when planned ahead of a failure rather than after one.

Frequently Asked Questions About Tree Health Assessments

Here are answers to some of the questions St. Louis homeowners most commonly ask when it comes to assessing the health and safety of their trees.

How often should a tree health assessment be done?

Once per year is a reasonable baseline for most established trees, with June’s full leaf-out being the best timing for spotting deadwood and canopy issues. Trees that have experienced storm damage, significant pruning, or pest pressure in the previous season may warrant a more frequent check.

Are dead branches always a sign of a bigger problem?

Not always. A single dead branch in an otherwise healthy canopy can result from localized damage, shading, or minor pest activity. Multiple dead branches across the crown, deadwood in the upper canopy, or dead branches accompanied by trunk-level symptoms point to a more systemic problem that warrants a professional evaluation.

Schedule Your Tree Health Assessment With Meyer Tree Service

A June walk around your property is the most useful tree health assessment you can do all year, but knowing what to look for and knowing what to do about it are two different things. Meyer Tree Service ‘s ISA-certified arborists serve homeowners across the St. Louis area, providing professional tree health assessments, pruning, structural support, and tree removal services for trees that cannot be saved.

If your inspection turned up bare limbs, poor structure, or anything at the trunk that concerns you, reach out today to schedule a professional evaluation before a small problem becomes a large one.