29/06/2026
There's a disease killing ash trees across the country, and right now is the best time of year to spot it.
It's called ash dieback. A fungus that blocks the tree's water system, kills the shoots, and over a few years can bring the whole tree down.
Here's why summer matters.
A healthy ash should be in full, thick leaf by now. So a struggling one gives itself away. The crown looks thin and see-through. Bare, dead twigs stick up above the leaves. You get tufts of new growth sprouting low on the trunk, where the tree is trying to fight back. Later in the year, when every tree is dropping leaves anyway, all of that hides. So now is when it shows.
The bit that catches people out. A diseased ash gets brittle fast. The wood dries and goes unpredictable, which makes it more dangerous to climb and more likely to fail without warning. A tree that could have come down cleanly last year can become a far bigger job, and a far bigger risk, if it's left.
Not every ash with a thin crown needs felling. Some hold on for years, and a few seem to resist it. But if you've got an ash near the house, the drive, or a road, it's worth knowing what you're dealing with while you can actually see it.
