How to Help Storm-Damaged Trees Recover
Bill 0 Comments Tree Service
Tree Service in Cooksville, MD
If you’ve recently had a big storm pass through your area that caused damage to trees on your property, you need the services of a tree care professional to ensure the long-term survival capability of those trees. Just make sure any tree service in Cooksville, MD that you work with has experience in restoring and repairing storm-damaged trees—all too often you’ll hear of arborists recommending the thinning of interior branches, but this is absolutely the wrong thing to do if you wish to avoid future storm damage from occurring.
In fact, the exact opposite strategy is best—remove branches at the ends of long limbs, and keep the interior branches intact. This will ensure the stability and strength of the tree for years to come, even if all the leaves blow off a tree and a few branches bust off.
With this in mind, here are a few tips to help you aid your trees on your property in their recovery from storm damage:
- Remove any branches that are broken, hanging or separated, but do not prune any live wood that is still healthy. Doing so saps the tree of some of the energy stored in its limbs that it needs in order to heal itself from the damage it sustained.
- Check the tree for cracks where there are branches that connect to larger limbs. If any cracks exist, cut that limb back to the next whole branch.
- Make smooth cuts. Never leave little stumps or ragged pieces of the tree sticking out from it. Also, leave the collar, which is the thicker area around the base of the tree limb where it attaches to the tree. This will help heal the cut from the pruning.
- Stake up any smaller trees that have been damaged (trees with a four inch trunk diameter or less) and make sure they’re standing up straight. Water it like it’s a new tree.
A few months after the storm occurs, be sure to check and see how the roots are doing. If they’re healthy, they should be a brown or gray color with a hard, white center. If the roots are soft, they’re dying.
When will it be impossible to save a tree?
Unfortunately, there are some circumstances in which it simply is not possible to restore a storm-damaged tree. Here are a few examples of such scenarios:
- The tree is leaning over a house, car or other area where people walk or play. This is a significant safety hazard, and it’s important to bring the tree down safely before the rest of it comes crashing down at an unpredictable time.
- The tree is hanging over or touching power lines. Never remove a tree yourself in this situation—you could make matters worse, knock out power lines and potentially start an electrical fire.
For more tips about healing storm-damaged trees, contact our tree service in Cooksville, MD and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you have.