Question
I have three very large fruitless mulberry trees.  I noticed in February that the bark was peeling off one limb of the trees.  Yesterday we had a lot of wind and one of the limbs fell.  On further inspection, all three trees have limbs that are dead.  Could this be disease or age?

Answer
Jay:
This may indicate some level of decay that is going on inside the tree, especially if it is an older tree. Often times microorganisms can enter through a wound, set up housekeeping, then it becomes a slow, yet progressive decline. Best advise to prolong the life of the tree is to make sure you don't injure the trunk with lawnmowers and stringtrimmers and to water it during the hot/dry months of summer to minimize stress.

Often times we don't see the level of internal decay until we have a wind or ice storm, then we may get broken branches.  Eventually the tree may become a hazard to persons or property- then it is time to make firewood out of it.  Just watch it for decline (dying branches etc.) and if the number of branches increases to the point where it looks dangerous, then removal may be best.

Regards
Steve