ARLINGTON, Texas — Spring is still a little more than 3 weeks away. But looking at some shrubs and trees around North Texas just might leave you scratching your head because some of them look dead.
It's a hot topic among some of the experts in North Texas.
Arborist Kip Boydston says he's getting phone calls from concerned homeowners alarmed about their greenery that's not so green.
"Most of the trees are simply still in dormancy, which means they're not active with the leaves are green," said Boydston. "Some red buds and some dogwoods are starting to bud out. But the deciduous trees, the ones that drop their leaves, have not really started to yet, other than a few elm trees."
Boydston has been a certified Arborist with LaTour Tree Service for 17 years. He obtained his Certified Arborist Certification in 2019 and his Tree Risk Assessment Qualification in 2020.
He explains why people taking walks in parks and their neighborhoods could be among leafless branchy trees one minute and under huge shade trees the next.
"The tips, the buds start to swell, and then as they mature, they'll start to leaf out," said Boydston. "So, we're seeing some ornamentals right now because of the heat the last couple of weeks start to push out."
Boydston attributes this year's early budding to a mild winter. But says homeowners may need to act now if their bushes and trees have been impacted by North Texas rollercoaster seasons over the past few years.
"If you got dead shrubs, it'd probably not be a bad time to get those removed and pull those up or dig those out if they died last year from the drought between the freeze in 2021, and the drought in 2022. In the drought last year, we are seeing a lot of deadwood both in trees and shrubs," Boydston said.
He shared that even this week's drastic temperature changes could mean drastic differences in your yard. He believes the highs and lows bring a lot of stress to plant life, but most greenery can take it.
"If homeowners find themselves with mistletoe in the tree, go through and scrape it out or go through and cut off its large branches, cut that out to allow the tree to recover," he said.
That's a sign of stress Boydston warns could change again when spring officially arrives.