A tree health assessment form records why a tree looks unwell and what to do about it. A client calls because leaves are yellow in July, the top is thinning, or sap is running down the trunk. The arborist looks at the whole tree and its site, separates what is certain from what is suspected, sends a sample if needed, and recommends care. This template follows that visit from the client's concern to the follow-up date. Fill it in on this page and download a PDF without an account, or speak while you walk, and the document writes itself.
Most decline starts in the ground
Insects and fungi are easy to blame because you can see them. Often they are the second problem, moving into a tree already weakened by compacted soil, a buried root flare, a trench through the roots, too much or too little water, or mulch heaped against the bark. That is why this form asks about the root zone and the site as carefully as it asks about the leaves.
Ask about the last few years too. Construction next door, a new patio, a drought summer or a change in the sprinklers can explain symptoms that only show up two or three seasons later.
Suspected is not confirmed
Many problems look alike in the field. Scorched leaf edges can be drought, salt, root damage or a bacterial disease. The form makes you mark each pest or disease as suspected from what you saw, waiting on a lab, confirmed by a lab or ruled out. A client, an insurer or the next arborist can then see exactly how sure you were.
Some insects and diseases are regulated by state or federal quarantine. If you suspect one, check with your state department of agriculture or your extension service before moving wood or recommending treatment.
Recommend care; let the label decide the rate
The recommendations section records what you suggest: watering, mulching, pulling soil off the root flare, cutting a girdling root, pruning out infected wood, a soil test before any fertilizer, a pest or disease treatment, or removal. It does not prescribe products or rates.
If you apply anything on the day, the form records the product exactly as its label names it, the EPA Reg. No., the active ingredient, the target, the method and the amount you used. The label is the law, and only a certified applicator should apply a pesticide.
Set the follow-up before you leave
Health problems rarely resolve in one visit. Agree a date to look again — after the lab result, after the next flush of leaves, or at the same time next year — and write down what you will check, so the next visit can say whether things are better or worse.
Common questions
What does a tree health assessment include?
The tree and the client's concern, recent history, symptoms in the leaves, canopy, bark, root collar and root zone, pests and diseases seen and how sure you are of each, site and soil conditions, samples sent, the likely cause and outlook, recommended care, anything applied that day, and a follow-up date.
Is a tree health assessment the same as a risk assessment?
No. A health assessment asks why a tree is declining and how to help it. A risk assessment asks whether the tree or a part of it could fail and hit something. A declining tree can become a risk, so if you see structural problems, record them and recommend a risk assessment too.
When should I send a sample to a lab?
When the symptoms could have more than one cause and the treatment depends on which, when a regulated pest or disease is possible, or when the client is deciding whether to spend money on treatment or removal. University extension labs and private plant diagnostic labs both test samples.
Why does the form not suggest a product or a rate?
Because the right treatment depends on a confirmed diagnosis, the site and local rules, and the rate comes from the product label. The form records what you recommended and anything you actually applied, not what someone else should apply.
Who can fill this form in?
An arborist or plant health care technician. Applying pesticides requires the certification your state sets; the form records the applicator's credential at the top.