Massachusetts, a state of just 7 million people, is home to 1.4 billion trees, according to the United States Forest Service. Yet concern about a rapidly diminishing tree canopy is growing. In New England we are starting to lose sugar maples, native and imported European beeches, eastern hemlock, ash, balsam fir, red spruce, red pine and more.
Climate change is a significant villain. So are the insects trade brings. The drought of 2016, Nicholas Brazee, a plant pathologist at the University of Massachusetts says, saw the rise of non-native spongy moths, which defoliated 900,000 acres of forest.
Construction exacerbates the situation, with Needham losing the equivalent of 14 football fields — or 18.5 acres — of tree canopy each year. A tree protection and preservation bylaw is scheduled to come before Town Meeting in October, with some residents at a September Select Board meeting criticizing the fact the town and existing residents are exempt.
Tree destruction has economic consequences. Arborist News quotes studies that show the resale value of a home in a high income area with old trees is 10% to 15% higher than those with none or young trees. “Studies find that homes adjacent to naturalistic parks and open spaces are typically valued at about eight to 20 percent more than comparable properties.” And consumers spend 9% to 12% more in forested business districts.
Jon Quinn, a tree specialist with Needham-based Hartney Greymont says “the worst thing for any plant is change. Trees grow so slowly that sudden change, whether wild swings in weather or construction, creates problems.” If you’re planning a renovation, he suggests you get the builder to mark the extent of the construction, then call in an arborist to “sever the roots,” which ironically protects the tree and allows new growth. If this does not occur and an earthmover or other building machine injures the roots, it may introduce infection that could see the tree die. “If you think of it in human terms, surgery requires a scalpel, not a dull handsaw,” Quinn said.
Brazee said it can take as long as eight years for the tree to die. “There’ll be a storm and the tree will fall and everyone will blame the weather, but the problem started with an injury long before.”
Large trees can live for centuries, though few of Needham’s trees could be classified as ancient. An oak tree, for example, has to live 400 years before it’s considered ancient. Mass Audubon tells us that “by the mid-1800’s, about 80% of the Massachusetts landscape was cleared for agriculture…most of our forests are now considered ‘middle-aged.’ This means our forests lack age class diversity, with few young forests (0-20 years) or old growth forests (200+ years).” This affects plants, birds and small mammals, and encourages invasive plants and the insects that destroy gardens.
Trees are essential for human health. “If we take care of trees, they take care of us, and might even help save our lives,” Harrison C. Garcia, the lead author of a recent study in GeoHealth by a team from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine noted.
They examined tree canopy cover in Chicago neighborhoods and found that “each year-to-year percent increase in canopy was associated with around a 10 percent reduction in mortality” and “a .03 percent year-to-year increase in tree cover (roughly, 14,000 new trees) would theoretically result in 105 fewer deaths per year. Decreases in deaths from chronic diseases — including respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, as well as from mental illness — partly drove that drop.”
Yet a 2026 study by Portland State University researchers found that of 33 American cities surveyed, 73 percent were losing tree canopies.
Most ancient trees in Massachusetts are in the yards of homeowners, and this is where peril enters. When the house is sold, developers often bulldoze not only the house but also the trees.
I spent a morning with Quinn. His crew starts work at 6:30 a.m. each day. We joined them at 7:15 at the home of 25-year resident and retired town planner Ned Daly, to prune one of his large old oaks, which Quinn estimated is at least 80 years old. Quinn said mature trees should be pruned once every eight to 10 years; in between all they need is mulching and a good weekly soak. Daly is concerned about tree canopy loss in Needham and gestures to tree-denuded lots on his street.
Often a faltering tree is suffering from ground compaction, Quinn said. He uses an air compressor and air spade to inject oxygen into the soil. “Ninety percent of problems start below ground, good soil is 40 percent to 90 percent air.” He may follow that up with a nitrogen-free fertilizer made up of humic acid, seaweed extract, humates and phosphonates. Applied to the roots, this helps thicken plant cell walls and defenses. “It should only be supplemental, not maintenance,” Quinn advises.
We stop at a few houses, one with a beautiful redbud and a heat-stressed rhododendron, another where the owner asks about the soil preparation needed to plant an 18-foot Katsura Japonica. We pause at a house with a newly-planted garden. The homeowner doesn’t open the door, rather she yells, unseen, from an open window that she wants the large red maple in front removed. “Leave the quote in the mailbox,” she said and closed the window. I squint at the garden; the house has solar panels, so the owners are concerned with energy efficiency. Removing the tree is a dichotomy because a treeless garden will make the house hotter, and without shade the new plantings of Japanese maples and hydrangeas will likely die.
Quinn’s tips for tree care are simple: “Stop irrigation, water with a hose, you will see so much more in your garden and identify issues earlier.” Use organic mulch. “Arborist chips are great,” Quinn said, “so is leaf mulch, which I use. Prune once in year four and then not for another ten years for most species. Pruning can be done at almost any time of year, although summer creates plant stress.”
Note: If you want a free tree for your front yard, submit a request to the Needham Department of Public Works. They will care for it for the critical first year of its life.
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