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Although Florida no longer holds the top ranking for states people are moving to most, tens of millions of new residents each year are still calling Florida home. Every day over 1200 people move to the Sunshine state, and according to the Florida Chamber of Commerce, most are coming down from Northern states. While northerners are well versed in preparing for 5 ft of snow, they may have very little experience in a hurricane. To help, we spoke to Urban Forestry Extension Agent and certified arborist, Alyssa Vinson, who has some advice to prepare you and your trees for the upcoming hurricane season.   

To begin, Alyssa wants to point out that having a healthy tree will mean a tree “more resilient to any damage” that may happen in a storm.  You want to see “a vigorous full canopy.” If you have a nice shade tree, you should have nice dark green leaves. “You want to look down into the canopy, see if there are any broken branches, any dead branches, anything that shows any signs of disease.” Other signs to look out for are that the tree “might be losing bark, or a shelf fungus is growing.” These fungal pathogenic mushrooms might indicate some internal decay. Alyssa points out that some trees, like Live Oaks, “don’t really care, but other trees are more susceptible.” Unfortunately, even a healthy tree can succumb to the wind and water of a hurricane.

If you do see any of these signs of an unhealthy tree, or are unsure, Alyssa suggests that “you reach out to a professional certified arborist, and you have them come out and do a risk evaluation on your tree.”

Prevention, of course, is the best course of action, and there are many things you can do when planting and caring for your trees that will keep them healthy all year round. Planting trees with the correct amount of spacing and “choosing tree species that are more accurately sized to the location where they’re going to grow,” is important for the health of the tree at maturity. Alyssa pointed out all the large trees planted downtown. For instance, “a live oak at maturity can have a canopy spread of up to 120 feet wide. So if you put a live oak tree in a 60 foot wide lot, or in a street tree planting or median planting, you end up with a tree that never really has the ability to reach its maximum size potential,” which can lead to a weak root ball.

IFAS has a guide with a list of trees that might be perfect for your area. But don’t forget that you have to take in not only wind and water tolerance, but also height, and soil type. Some recommendations are Red Maples, Sweet Gums, Gumbo Limbos, and Cypress.

Vinson also points out that people often mulch much too close to the base of their trees. She refers to this as a “mulch volcano.”Alyssa explains that “roots need to breathe. If you pile a whole bunch of mulch on top of the surface roots of a tree, you’re going to make it more difficult for those roots to exchange oxygen and essentially, breathe.” It can also lead to fungal growth and encourage wood destroying insects into the tree. She suggests keeping mulch 6-8 inches from the base of the tree.

After doing all you can to maintain a healthy tree, some tips for immediate storm prep are to shut off your irrigation system and evaluate the safety of your surroundings if any of your trees were to be affected. If your tree has some dead branches or is touching a powerline, or could potentially fall on your home or your neighbors, safety is most important. Alyssa emphasizes that “nobody should ever be pruning tree branches near power lines. It is very dangerous. Only allow the electric utility to do that.” Also, if you have a smaller tree, Alyssa recommends “giving them a little bit of help, staking them up and protecting them from falling over would be a good idea.”

Post storm, it’s important to be educated on proper chainsaw techniques for downed trees and limbs, so you are able to safely chop them up. Safety Harbor Tool Library has chainsaws available for rental and getting with your neighbors to offer help and share resources is a great option as well. You can also follow City of Tampa’s Solid Waste page for days and rules for putting out yard waste before and after a storm.

If you love the Sustainable Living Show, make sure to tune in every Monday at 11am on 88.5fm or listen to past episodes in the archives here. You can also stay up to date with show happenings on our Facebook page. Head over to the tip jar and direct your donation to Sustainable Living to show your monetary support. Remember, it takes a community to build a community.

 

The post Tree preparation before a hurricane with Alyssa Vinson appeared first on WMNF 88.5 FM.