Weather It Matters: A fall tree care checklist from the experts

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Fall is a time when trees are front and center as many track the seasonal color change. However, if you’re a homeowner, instead of focusing on the leaves, you might want to focus on how healthy the rest of the tree is.

Bill Zimmerman is an arborist and the owner of American Tree and Lawn Care.

He recently let ABC57News tag along as he oversaw the removal of a century-old cottonwood in Berrien County.

Not only was the tree too close to a house for comfort, but it’s also acted as an unlucky lightning rod.

"There's a big strike right in the center," Zimmerman showed ABC57News. "Here's one that was it was struck at the same time, but that one healed closed. You have another one over to the left."

Even if you think the trees near your house are totally fine, Zimmerman says fall is the perfect time to take stock of your fraction of forest.

If the leaves are changing color early, that's a sign of stress," Zimmerman explained.

"Is it a root problem," Zimmerman added. "In the fall and wintertime, that's the time to really cut the roots, and it's also a great time to fertilize and try to feed the roots."


If those aren’t the root of the issues, look up a little to see if the bark is what’s bothering the tree.

If there's big pieces of bark that's coming off, showing the wood underneath," Zimmerman described, "we want to find out what happened and why that's going on."

Depending on what type of tree needs to be taken out, you might need to wait for colder temperatures to avoid spreading insect-borne diseases.

"If you have a fresh cut in your oak trees throughout the summer, and beetles land on that fresh cut, the tree can get oak wilt disease, and there's nothing you can do to stop that, the tree is going to die," Zimmerman explained.

"We also avoid trimming American elms and we avoid the ash trees as well," Zimmerman added.

While this day was all about sapling subtraction, Zimmerman says arbor addition is just as important.

"I always like to say to the homeowners, if we're cutting a tree down, let's plant another tree," Zimmerman advised.

Brent Thompson is in charge of South Bend's Community Canopy Program, planting free, native trees on tree lawns around the city.

"October and November, when we start getting some rains, it's a good time to plant," Thompson explained.

Thompson tells ABC57News planting trees now can help them get a head start next year.

"The tree over winters, and then it first thing in the spring, it pushes out new roots," Thompson said. "You always want to get the trees in so they can get out of that hole, so they can actually get the water that comes with the spring rain."

If you'd like to sign up for the Community Canopy Program, click here. You must live in South Bend to be eligible.