Dead, dying or dormant ...

A number of bare trees around central Dunedin are leafless but not lifeless, Dunedin City Council parks operations manager Hamish Black says.

Earlier this  month, skeletal, bare trees could be seen on George, Hanover, Castle and Great King streets and in the Octagon.

An arborist had checked all trees in central Dunedin and all but two were alive, Mr Black said.

A dead tree on Princes St was removed at the end of last year, and another dead tree on the corner of George and Hanover Sts would be removed next month.

The other trees were alive, but showing no signs of leafing, he said.

The council would monitor the trees, but they had failed to leaf in the past and the situation was not unusual.

Bare trees in the lower quadrant of the Octagon were fighting fungal disease, and would be monitored by an arborist.