Some of these are questions people ask us. Some are things we wish more people knew to ask. Either way, don’t see yours here? Call us — we’re happy to talk it through.
Azaleas are especially sensitive to a few specific things here in North Texas: our alkaline clay soil works against them (azaleas naturally prefer acidic soil), root rot from poor drainage is common, and lace bugs cause a stippled, silvery look on the leaves before the plant visibly declines. A dying azalea is rarely a mystery once someone actually looks closely — it’s almost always one of these three.
A few real possibilities, and they look different up close. Boxwood blight causes dark spots with a straw-colored, blighted look and leaf drop. Winter bronzing is a normal seasonal color shift that isn’t harmful at all. Root or crown rot from wet, poorly-drained soil shows up as browning that starts at the base and moves upward. Telling these apart is exactly the kind of thing worth a second look before assuming the worst.
This is almost always crepe myrtle bark scale — a small insect that coats the bark in a white, waxy film, and the black you’re seeing is sooty mold growing on the honeydew it leaves behind. It’s treatable, and it’s become increasingly common across North Texas landscapes in recent years.
Redbuds are naturally shorter-lived than oaks and tend to show stress earlier. Verticillium wilt — a fungal disease that blocks water movement inside the tree — is a common cause of yellowing and dieback in redbuds specifically, along with simple drought stress in a tree that’s more sensitive to it than most North Texas natives.
Japanese Maples are one of the more sensitive ornamentals people plant in Texas — they weren’t built for our summer sun and clay soil the way native trees were. Crispy, browned leaf edges usually mean too much direct afternoon sun or heat stress, while yellowing often points to a soil pH or nutrient issue instead.
Completely normal. Yellowing is one of the most common but least specific symptoms in plant health — it can mean a nutrient deficiency, overwatering, root stress, disease, or just a seasonal change. The exact pattern — which leaves, where on the leaf, how fast it’s spreading — is what actually tells the story, and that’s exactly the kind of thing worth a second set of trained eyes.
Just that something’s off — not necessarily that the tree is dying. “Sick” can mean anything from a minor, easily-treated nutrient deficiency to a serious disease, and the whole point of an evaluation is finding out which one you’re actually dealing with before assuming the worst.
Not necessarily. A single dead or dying limb can sometimes be isolated to one section — from local damage or a blocked vessel — while the rest of the tree is completely fine. Still worth having looked at, but not automatically a death sentence for the tree.
Usually underwatering or too much direct afternoon sun — hydrangeas are one of the least drought-tolerant shrubs commonly planted in North Texas landscapes. Crispy, browned leaf edges specifically almost always point to heat or moisture stress rather than disease.
Often heat stress, especially in a spot with reflected heat off pavement or a wall. Holly can also show scorch-like browning from root stress in compacted soil — worth telling apart from a true disease before assuming the worst.
Ligustrum is usually a tough, forgiving shrub, so yellowing often points to a real underlying issue — root rot from overwatering or poor drainage is the most common cause in North Texas clay.
Not always a problem — nandina naturally shifts to a red or bronze color in winter, which gets mistaken for dying constantly. True brown, dry, or dropping leaves outside of that seasonal shift are more likely a real issue worth checking.
Usually a fungal leaf spot disease, common across North Texas after wet spring weather. It looks alarming but is rarely fatal on its own — though it’s worth having looked at if it’s spreading fast or showing up multiple years in a row.
yes, regardless of variety. Cold-hardy palms and palm-like plants (sago palms are actually cycads, not true palms, though everyone calls them that) can look completely dead after a hard freeze — brown, collapsed fronds and a blackened crown — but the growing point deep in the trunk frequently survives. Don’t remove it right away; have it looked at first. Our Symptom Guide covers how to tell a surviving palm from a lost one.
Want more detail organized by exactly what you’re seeing? Browse our full Symptom Guide
A regular tree service is mostly built around cutting — trimming, removal, stump grinding. Plant health care starts from a different question: why is this tree or shrub struggling, and can it be saved? We diagnose the actual cause and treat it — trees and shrubs both, not just large trees.
We treat trees and shrubs to save them. On the rare tree that’s truly gone beyond saving, we refer that work out to a separate company — we don’t perform removals ourselves, which means our opinion isn’t shaped by a removal business model. Already been told by someone else that a tree has to come down? Get a second opinion first.
No. Your first on-site evaluation is completely free, including a written report if you need one for something like a home purchase. You’ll only pay if you decide to move forward with treatment.
Fort Worth, Arlington, Mansfield, Burleson, Southlake, Colleyville, Keller, Trophy Club, Aledo, and surrounding Tarrant County communities.
We respond within 24 hours during business days (Monday–Friday, 8 AM–5 PM). If something feels urgent — a leaning tree, storm damage, anything near a structure — call rather than filling out the form. If it’s outside business hours, leave a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as we’re open.
We’d rather just talk it through than have you guess. Call us, or request a free evaluation and we’ll come take a look.
Prefer to talk it through first? Call (817) XXX-XXXX — speak directly with your local Certified Arborist.
Prefer to talk it through first? Call (817) XXX-XXXX — speak directly with your local Certified Arborist.