Tree Care FAQ

Late winter, while trees are dormant and before spring growth begins. Mississippi State University Extension recommends pruning shade trees such as oak and maple in late winter to early spring, just ahead of the new growing season. Dormant pruning also falls outside the window when insects and disease pressure are highest.

Oaks carry one added rule. Regional forestry agencies across the South advise against pruning or wounding oaks from roughly February through June, when the sap-feeding beetles that spread oak wilt are most active and fungal spore mats are producing. A fresh cut during that window is an open invitation. If storm damage forces a cut on an oak in spring, make as few cuts as possible and seal them immediately, one of the only situations where wound paint is recommended. Emergency hazard work is always the exception and is handled in any season.

Sources: Mississippi State University Extension, pruning timing · Texas A&M Forest Service, oak wilt and the February to June no-prune window

Mississippi State University Extension publishes Storm-Resistant Trees for Mississippi Landscapes, which rates roughly 80 trees and shrubs grown in this state for ice, wind, flood, and salt tolerance. The species that resist breakage share a profile: strong branch attachment, flexible branches, low branch surface area, and straight trunks.

Ice-tolerant performers include bald cypress, black walnut, and eastern redcedar. For wind, MSU points to live oak, flowering dogwood, and crape myrtle, which limit the surface area catching the gust, along with tapered-crown species such as eastern redcedar. Bald cypress rates well across the board. American holly and southern magnolia round out the durable list.

No tree is storm-proof. MSU is direct on this point: healthy trees tolerate high winds best, and the condition of an individual tree matters as much as its species.

Sources: MSU Extension, Storm-Resistant Trees for Mississippi Landscapes · MSU Extension, selecting trees that withstand Mississippi storm damage

The same Mississippi State research identifies the species that suffer most from ice loading: Bradford pear, eastern cottonwood, river birch, and silver maple. All four are common in North Mississippi yards, and Bradford pears in particular were planted heavily across DeSoto County subdivisions in the 1990s and 2000s. They are now reaching the age where their branch structure starts giving way.

The exposure here is real and measurable. MSU notes that northern Mississippi counties average 55 thunderstorm days per year, and that Mississippi ranks eighth nationally in tornadoes per 10,000 square miles. Ice events are less frequent but severe when they arrive, the February 1994 storm across Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama caused damage estimated above three billion dollars and left a million people without power, some for over a month.

If one of these species stands within falling distance of your house, it is worth a look before the next front rather than after.

Sources: MSU Extension, Storm-Resistant Trees for Mississippi Landscapes · MSU Extension, storm damage and species selection

Tree failures start at a visible defect far more often than from size alone. Mississippi State Extension lists the damage patterns worth watching: open wounds, split branches, exposed roots, a trunk leaning to any degree, and broken or torn limbs. Add to that decay cavities, mushroom-like growth at the base, cracks where a limb meets the trunk, tight V-shaped branch unions, and heaving soil on one side of the root plate.

The Mississippi Forestry Commission adds a point that catches many property owners off guard: stressed or damaged trees become more susceptible to disease and to tree-killing insects, and pine stands in particular may see increased southern pine beetle and Ips engraver beetle activity afterward. MFC also advises patience, watch trees into spring, because damage that was invisible immediately after a storm often shows itself once the growing season begins.

Any of these signs on a tree within reach of a house, driveway, or service line is worth a professional look. Every estimate here is free, so an inspection costs nothing but the time.

Sources: MSU Extension, Repairing Storm-Damaged Shade, Ornamental, and Fruit Trees · Mississippi Forestry Commission, checking trees for storm damage

Handle the predictable failures before the wind finds them. Remove deadwood and broken hangers, since those drop first in every event. Walk the property after each significant weather system and look for new cracks, new lean, or limbs caught in the canopy. Pay closest attention to anything overhanging the roof, the driveway, or the service drop to the house.

Species selection matters over the long run. Mississippi State Extension recommends choosing storm-resistant species when planting, noting that doing so makes a property safer and reduces future tree maintenance costs. The Mississippi Forestry Commission frames the maintenance side plainly: ongoing care and management is the best way to ensure healthy trees that survive future storms.

Scheduling that work in calm season is cheaper and safer than cleanup afterward, without exception.

Sources: MSU Extension, Storm-Resistant Trees for Mississippi Landscapes · Mississippi Forestry Commission, storm damage guidance

No, and this is one of the few questions in tree care with a flat answer. Consumer guidance from the International Society of Arboriculture is unambiguous: topping removes 50 to 100 percent of a tree’s leaf-bearing crown, starves and stresses the tree, and triggers a flush of fast-growing shoots attached only weakly to the outer wood. Those shoots break more readily in wind and ice than what was cut off, so long-term risk rises rather than falls.

Mississippi State Extension reaches the same conclusion from the storm-recovery side, advising that a damaged tree be pruned just enough to balance any loss of roots and that severe pruning be avoided. Where height or spread genuinely must come down, proper reduction cuts back to strong lateral branches. Where that is not enough, the honest answer is removal and replacement with a species that fits the space.

Sources: International Society of Arboriculture, Why Topping Hurts Trees · MSU Extension, Repairing Storm-Damaged Shade, Ornamental, and Fruit Trees

It depends on four things: the size of the tree, what it stands next to, how much of it is still attached, and how hard the site is to reach with equipment. A modest tree in an open yard is a straightforward fell and haul. A large water oak leaning over a roofline has to come down in rigged sections, and the price reflects the added time, equipment, and skill. Storm-damaged trees carrying load add complexity of their own.

The only accurate number comes from seeing the tree, which is why every estimate here is free, written, and carries no obligation. Independent guidance on selecting and working with tree care professionals is available from the International Society of Arboriculture, and Mississippi State Extension offices maintain lists of ISA board-certified arborists by area.

Sources: International Society of Arboriculture, consumer resources · MSU Extension, working with certified arborists

Judge on evidence, not on the loudest yard sign. Ask for a written scope and price before any work begins, and confirm who will actually be on the property; a single point of accountability beats a phone number that changes hands. Match the outfit to the job: a large removal over a roofline calls for rigging and the right machine. Read the local record, meaning reviews tied to real jobs in real neighborhoods rather than a national call center.

Two cautions earn their place here. Be wary of anyone knocking on doors right after a storm and demanding cash up front, a pattern consumer guidance from the International Society of Arboriculture warns about every season. And treat a price dramatically below every other quote as information, not luck; the difference usually comes out of the cleanup, the safety margin, or both.

Sources: International Society of Arboriculture, consumer guidance on hiring tree care professionals