Most trees fail slowly, and they usually tell you first. The trouble is that the signs are easy to walk past when you see them every day. Here are the five we look for on every site visit, in the order we check them.

1. Look at the base

Mushrooms or soft, crumbly wood around the root flare often mean decay inside the trunk. So does a fresh crack in the soil on one side of the tree, or roots lifting out of the lawn. Push gently on any bark that looks loose. If it moves, the wood behind it is probably dead.

2. Check the lean

A lean on its own is not a problem. Plenty of trees grow at an angle for fifty years. What matters is a lean that changed. If a tree started leaning after a storm, or the soil on the far side is heaving up, treat it as urgent.

3. Look up for dead wood

Branches with no leaves in summer, bark peeling off in sheets, or a canopy that is thinner than last year are all signs of a tree in decline. Dead limbs over a roof, a driveway or a play area should come down before the next windy season, whatever the rest of the tree looks like.

4. Find the weak joints

Two trunks growing tight together in a V shape can split under load, especially if there is a seam of bark trapped between them. You can often see a dark line or a long crack running down from the fork. These joints can sometimes be braced. Sometimes they cannot.

5. Watch for change

Take a photo of the tree from the same spot every spring. New cracks, new lean, sudden leaf drop or a cavity that keeps getting bigger are all reasons to call. A tree that looks the same every year is usually fine.

If you spot one of these, you do not need to guess. Book a free site visit and an arborist will look at the tree with you, tell you what they see, and give you a written price if anything needs doing.