How To Ensure Storms Won't Damage Your Trees
It is not by mistake that some trees survive storms better than others. Even if a storm sweeps through a neighborhood, it will not damage all the trees in its path. Here are some of the measures to take to ensure that your trees will among those left standing after a storm:
Plant Trees in Groups
Preventing storm damage on your trees should start right from the planting period. For example, there is evidence that planting trees in groups help them better resist storm damage. The increased canopy reduces the strength of the wind. Therefore, plant your trees in clusters if you want them to survive storms in the future.
Ensure Your Trees Are Healthy
A diseased or weak tree is more likely to be uprooted, broken or felled by a storm. For example, if a tree's bark is damaged by pests and is somehow rotten, it can be felled by a medium storm that a healthy bark would have withstood. Therefore, make sure your trees are healthy by providing them with adequate water and nutrients, ensuring that they get adequate light, ensuring that the soils above roots aren't compacted and that the diseased branches are removed.
Prune the Trees Properly
Pruning helps to mitigate storm damage in several ways. First, focused pruning eliminates extra trunks to ensure that the main or central trunk is strong and can withstand storm damage; this should be started when the tree is young. Secondly, pruning also contributes to the health of the tree by ensuring that the remaining branches, roots, and leaves have all the nutrients and water they require for development. Lastly, pruning also reduces the surface area of the tree that wind can push on, reducing the likelihood of damage.
Care for the Trees after a Storm
If you don't want your trees to be damaged by a storm, then what you do for them before the storm matters just as much as the steps you take after a storm. Therefore, survey your trees after every storm to determine whether they need any help to survive. For example, it may be necessary to trim or remove broken branches or stake leaning trees. Call a tree service to help you determine how you can save your trees after a storm.
A tree service company can help you storm-proof your trees. Unfortunately, some trees will eventually succumb to storm damage despite your best precautions. Talk to a tree removal company to help you take care of such trees before they cause a further damage.