Knowledgebase
Trees thrive together? #922290
Asked November 21, 2025, 7:27 PM EST
Hello. I'm in lower Westchester County, NY. Is it me or does it seem like when a few trees are removed from a neighborhood due to age and storms, that it leads to a domino effect and before you know it there's a lot less trees? Does science prove that just like houseplants, trees thrive and are stronger when they are surrounded by each other? Thank you.
Westchester County New York
Expert Response
Hi Alex,
There has been a good deal of study and writing in recent years about the interrelatedness of trees and the systems that support trees as a colony. I think that you would find some of these books fascinating! They discuss trees as social groupings and examine the beneficial role of the fungal and bacterial networks that tie them together. Here are a few suggestions:
- Finding the Mother Tree; Simard, Suzanne
- Entangled Life; Sheldrake, Merlin
- The Hidden Life of Trees; Wohhleben; Peter
It is also the case that as biodiversity declines, as it does in a suburban setting, trees become more susceptible to disease, insects and environmental stressors. The close proximity of trees of a limited number of species means that a single stressor, like the emerald ash borer, can move more rapidly through a neighborhood. That does not necessarily apply to the case you describe with trees selectively reduced but it may if the removal is related to a localized problem.
With kind regards,
Leslie
