I've seen apple trees so hollow that I wondered what's holding them up. Then, of course, there are the horror stories of trees in their prime like hickories, always late to leaf out in the spring, or larches, whose needles turn bright orange and drop each fall, that are mistaken for dead and cut off at the ankles. Like people, trees go through life stages. First is the seedling phase. Juvenility or the sapling phase begins with the second season of growth.
Maturity begins when the adult tree produces flowers.
With deterioration arrives senescense. These can backfire, however. It's an old wive's tale that the roots only extend as far as the canopy,'' he said. Like most garden plants, trees need an inch of water once a week over their entire root zone. Water that's delivered for 20 minutes once a day by an automatic sprinkler system often doesn't even penetrate to tree roots below a thirsty lawn.