Bottled Water, Flashlights, a Radio and an Arborist… Ways to Prepare for Hurricane Season

Trees shade our homes making them more livable. They add to our property value and create a pleasant community image. Trees attract birds and wildlife to our urban centers. Trees are great to sit under for a summer picnic with the grandkids. Trees help buffer wind gusts and protect our surroundings.

Trees also can be our worst enemy during a hurricane. Anyone who has ever experienced a tree problem during a hurricane can attest to this. Tree limbs can fall on homes and entire trees can be uprooted. As we enter the height of the hurricane season, you may consider having your trees inspected by a licensed and insured arborist for possible tree safety issues. Jed L. Goehring Inc. a certified arborist and landscape Design Company with over 35 years experience can help you examine your trees and ensure your safety this hurricane season.

There are a few things you as a homeowner can do to help limit the damaging effects of hurricane force winds on valuable shade trees.

• Prevent vines from growing up the trunk and onto branches in the tree’s canopy. The added weight of the vine’s vegetative growth increases the chance of branch failure. All the extra growth also increases the wind resistance of the tree limb. As the limb grows, it develops without this added stress, which now poses a safety threat.
• Protect the immediate vicinity around your home by pruning branches that may hit roof shingles, bathroom and kitchen vent pipes, ridge vents and wind turbines, chimney stacks and house siding.
• If you decide to have your shade tree pruned, resist the temptation to have the entire center cleaned out leaving only foliage at the branch tips. Over-pruning a tree like this allows wind to blow through the tree rather than around the tree. Branches on the leeward side of the tree, not accustomed to this extra wind load, are more likely to fail and come crashing down.
• If you have planted a new tree, it will most likely require staking to help it remain upright and prevent root damage during wind gusts. There are several methods to stake a tree, depending on its size, but support the tree trunk no higher than one-third its total height. It’s good for the upper two-thirds of the tree trunk to sway with the wind. But you want to stabilize the lower third of the trunk so the root ball does not move and cause root injury.

Jed L. Goehring Inc. has trained and experienced certified arborists that are equipped to perform all aspects of tree care and tree surgery and emphasize safety and knowledge in everything they do. Our crew has been together for more than 10 years and we are committed to a superior level of tree and shrub care. So before the peak of Hurricane season call an arborist today.