Q: What is the best month to trim palm trees?

• <div>You&rsquo;ll want to have your palm trees trimmed during the spring, ideally in May, before hurricane season sets in, which generally takes place during the late summer. Palm trees grow fastest over the summer months. You&rsquo;ll also want to trim your palm trees when you notice:<ul><li>Brown fronds </li><li>Dry leaves</li><li>Flower pods</li><li>Fruit</li><li>Fronds overgrown in power lines</li><li>Frond encroaching upon your neighbor&rsquo;s home or yard </li><li>Visible damage from a storm</li></ul></div>

Q: Am I responsible if a tree falls on my neighbor’s property?

• <div>Often, it&rsquo;s the homeowner&rsquo;s responsibility to handle the aftermath when a <a href="https://www.angi.com/articles/my-neighbor-s-tree-fell-my-house-who-pays.htm">neighbor&rsquo;s tree falls on their property</a>. But if a tree has been obviously dead for a significant period of time and caused damage when it fell, a case can be made that the owner should have removed it, especially if the neighbor wrote you a letter about the tree or asked you to take it down. This can be grounds for a successful lawsuit in claims court and is a good reason to always pay attention to your trees and remove dead trees before they fall.</div>

Question 1

What do I do if my neighbor is complaining about dead trees?

Accepted Answer

•

Your neighbor is not in a good position to know if your trees are truly dead or pose any kind of danger. That’s why hiring an arborist or tree service expert can be such an important part of the process. If the trees are still alive and don’t pose any threat, you’re in the clear (but you may want to document and photograph everything in case events turn sour down the road).

But if a tree is visibly dead and near the property line, you should remove it to be safe. If a dead tree falls on a neighbor’s property, they may have grounds to sue for negligence. If any branches on trees have died, it’s a good idea to cut them back for similar reasons.

Question 2

Do apple trees need to be pruned every year?

Accepted Answer

•

Aside from removing dead or diseased branches, you should prune your trees somewhere between every one and three years. Some people—particularly commercial farmers—prune their apple trees yearly to produce higher yields. This is the best way to promote tree health. That said, the average homeowner can get away with hard-pruning their mature apple tree every other year or every three years.

Question 3

What is the best month to trim palm trees?

Accepted Answer

•

You’ll want to have your palm trees trimmed during the spring, ideally in May, before hurricane season sets in, which generally takes place during the late summer. Palm trees grow fastest over the summer months. You’ll also want to trim your palm trees when you notice:

Brown fronds
Dry leaves
Flower pods
Fruit
Fronds overgrown in power lines
Frond encroaching upon your neighbor’s home or yard
Visible damage from a storm

Brown fronds
Dry leaves
Flower pods
Fruit
Fronds overgrown in power lines
Frond encroaching upon your neighbor’s home or yard
Visible damage from a storm

Question 4

How can you tell if a tree is overwatered?

Accepted Answer

•

Since overwatering can harm mature trees just as much as a lack of water, it’s important to know the signs of an overwatered tree. If your tree’s leaves are yellowing, wilting, or dropping leaves, it’s likely that you’re overwatering. Other common signs include rotting, fungi, soggy soil, soft or peeling bark, falling leaves, and brittle roots.

If you realize that you’ve been overwatering your mature tree, stop watering and give the soil time to dry out. Then moving forward, increase time between watering sessions.