Do you stay in a region that is prone to tornadoes, hurricanes, snowstorms, or torrential rain? The trees in your yard or garden may be at risk. They might pose a hazard to your property and the neighborhood if not taken care of during a storm season. For the safety of your own family and neighbors, it is imperative to stormproof your trees, especially if they are damaged and have splitting, toppling over, or downed branches. It is always advisable to get in touch with professional arborists to make your trees stormproof, as they are trained professionals and understand the needs of your trees. If you live around the area, you can get in touch with Herford’s Tree Care, Inc. to get access to expert arborists, as they serve all of Portland. In this article, we will talk about certain ways to prevent and mitigate storm-related damage to your trees.
Tips To Prepare Your Trees Before A Storm:
- Conduct a survey on your trees: Conduct a self-survey by walking around your yard and checking for the condition of your trees. Check the branches, roots, trunks, barks, and canopies. You can note down obvious signs of damage like rotting roots, leaning trunks, bare foliage, insect infestation, and unsecured branches. Get in touch with your arborist to get the best solution for the deteriorating health of your trees. The arborist will advise you to treat the trees if they appear to be damaged, sick, or leaning. They might also advise uprooting a tree professionally if it seems like a potential hazard in the future.
- Prune the trees: Regularly trimming and pruning your trees can help to boost wind resistance that could have damaged them. By reducing the chances of damage during a storm, regular pruning can significantly help to get rid of potentially dangerous branches (the dead and the weak ones) that are too close to your house. It is also important to properly prune the low-hanging branches of young trees as it causes a great level of instability and has the potential of falling during the storm season. You can also remove the interior branches so that the wind can pass through them more easily without any resistance.
- Little things to take care of: Easy tree care tips like securing pots and baskets from shade houses and taking them inside can be done by yourself before the storm season hits. You can also use fishing lines to secure staghorn ferns, orchids, and tree-dwelling bromeliads. Moreover, you can use additional stakes to secure the young trees. Get in touch with a junk removal company to get rid of your construction debris and other yard junk to prevent them from flying around in the wind. You can also remove the lightweight trellises and gates to prevent them from flying off. Garden furniture, tiki torches, grills, and other outdoor items should be properly secured as well.
- Prevent trees from being uprooted: You should never trim the trees after a storm or hurricane warning. Thinning and pruning the foliage of trees allows the storm wind to flow through the branches freely, which can decrease the chance of being uprooted. You should never cut the branch of a tree with the trunk and instead make the cut outside of the branch collar where it meets the trunk. This will prevent injury to the trunk of a tree. Moreover, don’t remove large limbs of a tree unless they are posing to be a hazard or obstruction. Always avoid “lion tailing,” which means making the limbs look like a lion’s tail by removing the smaller branches on larger branches.
- Take care of them year-round: Taking good care of your trees around the year is always a good idea to keep them healthy and protect them from storms. You can schedule regular tree checkups by getting in touch with a professional arborist company so that they have enough fertilizer and water and a sufficient amount of mulch. Moreover, not all trees are created equal, and hence only a professional tree care service can advise you on how to prepare for each one of them in case of severe weather.
If you live in a storm-prone area, you have seen tree-related damage before. From branches and twigs being strewn all over the neighborhood streets and yards to causing havoc and threat to human lives and properties, storm damage can have severe effects on trees. The above-proven ways of storm-proofing your trees can be one of the most important things you can do to ensure the health and safety of your family and neighbors. It is always best to go for certified and skilled arborist services as they are well-versed in addressing hazardous tree problems. They can also educate you about preventive measures for your trees that you can do on your own in the future. A certified arborist company can help you to prepare before the next storm strikes and save you time and money with their assistance.