Somewhere between your grandfather’s advice and a Facebook comment thread, Queensland built itself a library of tree “wisdom” that simply isn’t true. Believing it can mean removing a healthy tree — or worse, trusting a dangerous one.
After 25 years of assessments across the Sunshine Coast, here are the myths our Level 5 arborists correct most often.
Myth 1: “A leaning tree is about to fall”
Many gums lean their entire lives, growing compensation wood to balance themselves. What matters is a new lean — especially with soil lifting or cracking on the opposite side. An old, stable lean with a corrected canopy is usually a tree that found its balance decades ago.
Myth 2: “Dead branches mean the tree is dying”
Eucalypts naturally shed limbs and self-prune; some deadwood in the crown is normal. What raises alarms is deadwood appearing suddenly across the whole canopy, or dieback starting at the tips and marching inward — that pattern signals root or vascular trouble.
Myth 3: “Fungus at the base is just cosmetic”
This is the myth that frightens us most. Fungal brackets at the trunk base are the fruiting bodies of decay fungi — by the time you see them, internal decay may be advanced. A tree with basal fungus near a house deserves an assessment, not a shrug.
Myth 4: “Big roots near the house mean the tree must go”
Surface roots are usually seeking water and oxygen, not plotting against your slab. Most home foundations are threatened by soil moisture changes (especially reactive clay), not roots pushing through concrete. Pruning roots blindly, though, can destabilise the tree — always assess first.
Myth 5: “Topping makes a tree safer”
Cutting straight across the top triggers dense, weakly attached regrowth — the classic ‘lopper’s special’ that fails in storms 3–5 years later. Proper crown reduction achieves the height drop without creating tomorrow’s hazard.
When in doubt, get eyes on it. A free on-site assessment replaces myths with facts — and often saves a tree worth keeping.
