What each month of the year does to the trees of Davidson County.

January is midwinter, and the deciduous trees stand bare.

• Weather: The NC State Climate Office says North Carolina's monthly average temperatures are coldest in January, and that one winter storm can bring every kind of wintry precipitation.
• Trees: NC State Extension's pruning guide says not to prune excessively in the dormant season, particularly large, mature trees.
• In the yard: With the leaves off, limbs over the roof and the driveway are as easy to see as they get. A limb already down on something is a job for 24-hour emergency tree service.

February stays inside winter, when cold-air damming can set the Piedmont up for freezing rain.

• Weather: The NC State Climate Office describes cold-air damming: cold air pushes up against the Appalachians and leaves a shallow cold layer east of them that helps precipitation reach the ground frozen.
• Trees: NC State Extension says to delay winter pruning until late winter or early spring, avoiding wounds made in autumn while decay fungi release spores.
• In the yard: Late winter sits inside Extension's pruning window, so planned tree trimming and pruning fits February, before spring leaves hide a cracked limb.

March opens spring, when thunderstorms pick up again.

• Weather: The National Weather Service says North Carolina thunderstorms occur most frequently in spring and summer, though fall and winter storms happen too.
• Trees: NC State Extension Forestry says Bradford pear's white blooms are in full effect in March or early spring, and that the tree breaks easily during storms.
• In the yard: Bloom is the easiest time to pick out a Bradford pear. Extension Forestry runs the NC Bradford Pear Bounty with the NC Forest Service and other partners; the program does not pay for the removal.

April is when the growing season begins on the Lexington record.

• Weather: The NC State Climate Office's freeze table gives the Lexington COOP station in Davidson County an average last spring freeze of April 7, over a period of record ending in 2020.
• Trees: NC State Extension's general rule is that plants that bloom before June are pruned directly after blooming. A Southern Group of State Foresters overview hosted by the NC Forest Service says southern pine beetle typically emerges in early spring.
• In the yard: A flowering tree that needs shaping waits for its bloom to finish. As new leaves fill in, a dead limb stands out against the green.

May carries the spring storm pattern toward summer.

• Weather: The NC State Climate Office says spring and summer frontal thunderstorms can reach every part of the state with strong winds and intense rain, and sometimes hail, tornadoes or straight-line winds.
• Trees: The NC Forest Service expects adult emerald ash borers to be active in late spring, likely April through June.
• In the yard: For an ash over the house, the NC Forest Service county ranger is the one to ask about emerald ash borer.

June brings summer and the first month of the tropical season.

• Weather: The Atlantic hurricane season opens June 1 and runs to November 30 by the dates of NOAA's National Hurricane Center.
• Trees: NC State Extension Forestry lists yellowing leaves and early leaf fall, often noticed in June or July, as common heat and drought responses, and says healthy trees can typically regrow leaves if rainfall follows.
• In the yard: Early leaf drop is a reason to watch a tree, not a verdict on it. What a coastal storm can do this far inland is on hurricane season in the Piedmont.

July is high summer, when storms tend to build late in the day.

• Weather: The NC State Climate Office says thunderstorms are common on North Carolina's summer afternoons and evenings, and July is the second month of the Atlantic season.
• Trees: The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, NCDA and CS, gives adult spotted lanternflies a July to December window, and on February 10, 2026 it confirmed populations in Davidson, Rowan and Caswell counties.
• In the yard: Spotted lanternfly is a question for NCDA and CS, not a tree crew. Arbor Aves removes and trims trees and does not treat them for insects.

August is late summer, when heat and dry spells press hardest on trees.

• Weather: The NC State Climate Office says Southeast heat waves often come from a ridge of high pressure parked over the region, and calls a persistent ridge "one cause for many" summer droughts. The Hurricane Center's busiest stretch begins mid-August.
• Trees: NC State Extension says not to prune heavily in hot, dry weather, and after an extended drought to wait for the next growing season to see what died.
• In the yard: Note which limbs go bare rather than cutting them. One still leafless the next spring is worth a closer look.

September holds the season's peak on NOAA's calendar, a long-run average rather than a forecast.

• Weather: The Hurricane Center's climatological peak falls on September 10, and most activity comes between mid-August and mid-October.
• Trees: NC State Extension says to limit late-summer and early-autumn pruning, because it may push a growth flush in elms and maples that an early frost may then damage.
• In the yard: By September, a heavy limb over the roof is something to have looked at already. The pre-season list and the storm history sit on past hurricanes in the Piedmont.

October brings the first freeze on the Lexington average.

• Weather: The Climate Office's freeze table gives the Lexington station an average first fall freeze of October 28 over its period of record, and the Hurricane Center's window of most activity closes mid-October.
• Trees: NC State Extension calls trees going into dormancy one of the worst times to prune, with decay fungi sporulating in autumn.
• In the yard: An October walk-through can line up late-winter pruning; a limb already cracked over the roof does not wait for a season.

November ends the Atlantic season on the Hurricane Center's calendar.

• Weather: The Atlantic hurricane season ends November 30, and the National Weather Service says thunderstorms remain possible in fall.
• Trees: The Southern Group of State Foresters overview says southern pine beetle is active through late fall, with popcorn-sized pitch tubes on the trunk as an early sign.
• In the yard: The NC Forest Service says lightning, prolonged drought or flooding and damaging ice and wind storms often precede Ips engraver beetle attacks, so a stressed pine is worth asking the county ranger about.

December brings winter back, the season when freezing rain can coat a branch. Why ice breaks trees, and what the agencies say to leave alone while it does, is in ice storms and Piedmont trees.

• Weather: The NC State Climate Office explains that freezing rain turns to ice where it lands on a cold branch, and that a coat a quarter-inch thick is often heavy enough to break limbs. It also writes that the Piedmont is sometimes called the ice storm capital of the south.
• Trees: NC State Extension calls Bradford pear the classic weakly structured tree prone to self-destruction in winter storms, and lists water oak, silver maple, Leyland cypress and pecan among weak-wooded trees.
• In the yard: A big limb from one of those weak-wooded trees over the roof is worth a look before icy weather. The Davidson County storm log dates the recent winter storms that reached the county.