As our climate changes, storms have become more frequent and more intense leading to more property damage and damaged trees. Keeping your trees healthy is the best preparation for any storm season. However, trees can sometimes use additional support to ease the load on tree limbs and reduce the risk for property damage.
How Can I Prepare My Trees Against Storm Damage?
It is impossible to protect a tree from storms or prevent damage from severe weather, but there are some actions that you can take to minimize injury to trees. Although the best preparation begins when trees are young or newly planted, here are some things homeowners can do to minimize injury to trees:
- Do Not Stake or Guy Trees. Avoid staking or guying trees unless absolutely necessary. Unnecessary staking and guying prevents development of internal adjustments to wind with responsive wood growth. Let your trees adjust to the wind conditions by allowing natural movement.
- Regular Pruning. Regular tree pruning helps trees form a healthy, more wind resistant crown. Inspecting and performing corrective pruning helps newly planted trees produce a stronger structure. Pruning weak forked branches and co-dominant stems will promote strong central leaders in young trees. Proper pruning can prevent the whole tree crown being lost in a storm in the future.
- Have Your Trees Inspected. Have a professional arborist inspect your trees each year for broken, dying, diseased, and dead branches. Visual inspections after a severe weather event are also essential. Tree inspections provide a baseline for the health of your trees which can point out bigger problems or issues with your trees.
- Do Not “Top” Your Trees. This cannot be stressed enough. Under no circumstances should trees be “topped” to prevent damage from high winds or ice. Topped trees produce many small, poorly attached sprouts and actually increase the tree canopy weight and density as the tree grows. Topped branches can also develop diseased and decayed stems which further weaken the tree and make it more likely to be damaged in a storm. Topping trees is also a prohibited practice under the ANSI A300 Pruning Standard.
- Maintain Your Trees’ Health. A healthy tree is the best defense to storm season. Proper watering and fertilization improves the root system growth and makes the tree more stable. Treat your tree for pests problems when necessary to prevent insects and diseases from weakening your trees. Prune or trim diseased branches to minimize spread and further tree damage.
What are Tree Support Systems?
Tree support systems can be used to support and limit movement of leaders, individual branches, or entire trees. There are several types of commonly used tree support systems that help to lessen the load on your tree branches:
- Cabling. Using steel cables and related fittings and components can help to restrict the movement of a tree branch or co-dominant stem in relation to the rest of the tree. Cabling helps prevent tree branches from bending to the point where they break during severe weather like tornadoes, hurricanes, or derechos. Cables can also be used to support a weak fork and reduces the risk of branch breakage.
- Brace Rods. Brace rods can be used as a tree support system when your tree has multiple leaders with a weak attachment point. The rods help to reduce the risk of leader branches spreading and breaking. Brace rods can also be helpful to repair an already separated or split tree branch. Brace rods are always installed with at least one cable above for extra support.
- Tree Stakes. Tree stakes can be used to hold a young tree or transplanted tree upright and keep the root system in place until it is established. However, most of the time, arborists won’t stake trees because as long as the tree’s root system is good at planting it’s not necessary, and young trees need to be able to have some flexibility in the wind to establish strength. Staking can be helpful when planting trees on sloped or terraced yards, in loose soil, or for trees that are top-heavy and are expected to have a large crown. Any tree that is staked should be regularly inspected by an arborist to make sure the stakes aren’t damaging the tree and to determine whether the stakes can be removed.
What is Tree Lightning Protection System?
Lightning is an extremely powerful force of nature. Thousands of trees experience lightning strikes every year during storm season and those strikes can result in serious damage or injury to trees. While many people think that a lightning strike always means the tree will blown apart or shattered launching projectile wood everywhere, that’s actually a rare occurrence. Some trees won’t have any symptoms of damage after a lightning strike and some may die within a short time. Others may be damaged and later die from secondary pest infestation.
Tree lightning protection systems are meant to provide a preferred point for a lightning strike and a preferred route to the ground if a strike occurs. Establishing a path to the ground reduces the risk of damages to trees that get struck, damage to surrounding trees and property, and property damage and injury to persons from tree debris after a lightning strike. Tree lightning protection systems consist of conductors and grounding equipment as well as a tree collar that keeps conductors in place around the tree.
Tree lightning protection systems are not meant to protect people from lightning strikes during severe weather, nor will they protect electrical systems within or outside of a structure. This includes computers, security cameras, HVAC equipment, irrigation systems, landscape lighting, and well or other water pumps. Tree lightning protection systems also require periodic maintenance and inspection by a tree care professional.
Are My Trees At Risk for Lightning Strikes?
All trees have some risk of being struck by lightning during a storm, however, the risk of lightning damage depends on several factors. Trees considered more likely to sustain a direct lightning strike include:
- Trees close to water.
- Trees on hilltops or on slopes facing approaching storms.
- The tallest tree in a group of trees.
- Trees growing in the open or in small groups.
- Trees that border wooded areas or line streets, like municipal shade trees.
- Trees located in areas that are prone to lightning storms or numerous lightning strikes.
- Certain tree species like ash trees, tulip poplar, oak trees, and black locust trees.
How Do I Get an Estimate to Make My Trees Storm Ready?
Contact Taylor Expert Arborists at the phone number, email, or the link below to request an estimate. Taylor Expert Arborists always provides free quotes in writing and includes the cost of storm preparation and any necessary tree support systems or lightning protection systems. We have a wide range of equipment to remove tree debris and safety equipment to properly perform any storm preparedness services necessary, and we always take into account accessibility and property preservation when bringing in equipment.
Taylor Expert Arborists always provides its customers with an easy-to-read written contract that protects the homeowner and tree service, spelling out pricing, payment terms, and everything that is included with the work.
I’ve Hired Taylor Expert Arborists, Now What?
So, you’ve made the smart decision to hire Taylor Expert Arborists to make your trees storm ready, now how do you prepare?
- Communicate with Your Neighbors: If the storm preparation or tree support services may impact neighboring homeowners or if there are shared boundaries, inform your neighbors about the upcoming work. Discuss any concerns they may have and arrange access to their property if necessary.
- Clear the Work Area: Remove any obstacles or obstructions near the trees receiving additional supports or being storm prepared, such as vehicles, outdoor furniture, or garden decorations. Clearing the area around the tree will give the tree removal company ample space to work and maneuver equipment safely.
- Be Available for Communication: Ensure that you or another responsible person will be available on your property during the storm preparedness process to answer any questions, provide access to the property, and address any unexpected issues that may arise with the tree service company.
- Keep Pets and Children Inside: Keep pets and children indoors or away from the work area during storm preparation services to ensure their safety. Loud noises and heavy equipment can be frightening or dangerous for animals and young children.
- Follow the Safety Guidelines: Follow any safety guidelines or instructions provided by the tree removal company to ensure the safety of everyone involved. You must stay clear of the work area! If you want to watch the storm preparation service, you may be required to wear the appropriate safety gear and following any temporary access or traffic control measures.
All homeowners having storm preparation or support services performed should take these steps to prepare their property for service. Doing so can help facilitate a smooth and successful process while minimizing risks to property and tree service company personnel.
Taylor Expert Arborists are hard-working tree care experts with years of experience, and we install tree support systems and lightning protection systems in the safest way possible. We are family-owned and offer residential, commercial, and municipal tree trimming and pruning services, tree removal services, tree maintenance, stump grinding and stump removal, cabling and bracing services, tree health assessments, tree risk assessments, and emergency services. Taylor Expert Arborists are members of the New Jersey ISA and the New Jersey Society of Licensed Tree Experts.
Contact Us
We provide FREE consultations to all our clients! Taylor Expert Arborists always provides its customers with an easy-to-read written contract that protects the homeowner and tree service, spelling out pricing, payment terms, and everything that is included with the work.
