Month: April 2020

The state of Florida is known for its warm climate, wonderful beaches, and beautiful waterfront areas. Lush, tropical landscaping is a big factor in the appeal of Florida to residents and tourists alike. Often new Florida residents will want to improve their home with tropical palms and trees, however Florida is also known for hurricanes, and care should be given to selecting the trees that will be able to weather Florida’s frequent hurricanes without causing damage to the home or property.

In some years homeowners in Florida have to face multiple named storms, some of are strong enough to leave extensive property damage from wind and flooding. When that happens, large branches or entire trees will come down, often damaging homes or vehicles or other property and even bringing down the power grid.

While the importance of trees is apparent to all, they provide shade look beautiful, provide habitat for wildlife, improve soil and water retention, helping sustain the balance in the environment while providing economic value to communities. On the other hand when a major storm hits, falling trees and branches can result in large financial losses for property owners and utility companies.

Native Trees are resilient, and trees native to areas around the world that receive frequent tropical storms are also frequently resilient to high winds. They can develop enough strength to withstand forces like strong winds, or bend enough to withstand the wind without breaking or uprooting.

Many homeowners new to the Sarasota area will often select trees based on looks alone, and not realize the species does poorly during high winds. Even of you do have mature trees that are not resilient during storms around your property, steps can be taken to help such as pruning to keep branches from catching too much wind, improving drainage to keep soil from becoming overly saturated can be taken to reduce the probability of storm damage.

For a higher probability of success in preparing your landscape for storms, you may want to consider requesting the assistance of a professional tree company.

Planning

Perhaps one of the best ways to avoid having to face storm damage is to select the right tree species to grow. Before planting anything on your property, you need to have a plan. Consider the strength of a tree’s branches, trunk, and root system. Make sure to mind their placement. If you live near the waterfront, storms may flood your area with saltwater, so you will have to consider getting salt-tolerant trees.

You also have to think about the level of maintenance a tree requires. Choose the ones that will suit your lifestyle. Otherwise, you need to work with a reliable tree company to ensure the health of your trees. Consulting with a certified arborist can also help you understand what type of trees fit the weather conditions in your area as well as those that are more likely to survive on your property.

Prevention

The next thing you have to do is to give your trees proper care. If they are healthy and robust, they have better chances of withstanding the storm season. Make sure you understand their unique needs. Find out what substances or methods are essential to root development.

For this, you may need help from a professional tree company. They can test the soil composition, do proper preventative pruning, conduct necessary mulching, and remove severely damaged or dead trees.

Protection

Regular maintenance is crucial in ensuring healthy growth. Before the storm season, you may have to implement extra safety measures. Check if you need lopping. Inspect each tree for dead branches and diseased stems that may turn into decaying homes for unwanted hosts like pests and molds. If you think a tree has no chance of recovering, it may be best to hire a tree company to have it removed.

There are other things that only a professional tree care expert can do, so the best way to protect your trees and prepare them for the storm season is to have a certified arborist check them. An expert can evaluate potential problems and provide the best solutions.

Shade trees in forests usually have straight and tall trunks. As they grow, they tend to compete with other trees for sunlight. They also have the freedom to spread out and stretch their branches.

The case is different in a Southwest Florida property landscape. Since there is less competition and an abundance of sunlight, trees may end up developing a number of competing trunks. When this happens, the structure of a tree may end up weak and prone to breakage. Its longevity and resiliency are reduced due to various weather conditions. Additionally, you will have to consider other factors like safety risks and land area. To keep shade trees in good condition, you should do regular pruning.

How Is Tree Pruning Correctly Done?

The idea is to remove selected branches from a tree to help improve its structure and form while promoting healthy growth. When it comes to shade trees, regular pruning may also help in maintaining their shape. However, you have to make sure that it is done properly.

If you don’t have a regular pruning program or if you prune your trees the wrong way, this may lead to any of the following issues:

• Unwanted development of low limbs
• Formation of co-dominant stems
• Structural defects such as dead branches and included bark
• View obstruction
• Property damage from breaking or falling branches
• Accidents

Common Types

The method of trimming to be used depends on your goals.

• If you want to remove limbs all the way to the branch of origin, the tree care expert may use the thinning method.

• If you only want simple cuts to remove diseased, damaged, or dead limbs, the arborist may do a cleaning.

• To shorten branches or reduce the height and width of a tree, reduction may be necessary.

• If your goal is to improve the structure of the tree and ensure its long-term health, you can expect subordination cuts that may include one or more of the other three methods.

Improvement Of Health and Growth

As stated earlier, pruning regularly has a lot of advantages. It can enhance the overall look of a shade tree. What’s more, it can protect you, your family, your home, and your property from accidents.

Regular pruning makes shaded trees healthier. If your tree has infested or dying branches, you will need to prevent them from infecting other parts. A certified arborist can inspect the plant properly and determine which of its limbs has to be removed. In turn, this prevents insects, pests, and other organisms from causing more damage and saving the life of the tree. It can also increase sun exposure and promote better air circulation.

Pruning can help control the growth of shade trees. Your tree has to serve its purpose without harming the area around it, so you have to keep its growth in check. Pruning can help with that. A tree company can also suppress unwanted growth, if necessary. Additionally younger trees can be shaped with regular pruning. This way, they can have good branch structures and compensate for possible root loss.