Hurricanes, Storms, and Your Landscape
by
Mark Torok, FFS Senior Forester
Mark Williams, Treemendous Consulting Group
Living in Florida, sooner or later, given its history, your landscape is going to be exposed to high winds either from a hurricane, tornado or a storm. So what can be done to minimize wind damage in your Florida landscape?
For starters, have your existing trees inspected annually and/or structurally pruned by an ISA (International Society of Arboriculture) certified arborist who is also licensed and insured. To find an ISA certified arborist in your area, you can use the “Arborist Search” on the ISA website at http://www.isa-arbor.com/findanarborist/arboristsearch.aspx. Having your trees inspected annually (risk assessment) and structurally pruned every 2-5 years will help the trees become more wind-resistant by eliminating or minimizing structural defects such as cross branching, decay, codominant stems, deadwood and included bark in the trees.
If you are thinking about redoing and or enhancing your landscape, plant more wind resistant trees. Just like people, all trees are not the same; some are more wind-resistant than others. In general, trees species that are wind resistant are also good compartmentalizers. Good compartmentalizers are tree species that can recover well from wounds and that seal them off effectively preventing the spread of decay. Even trees that are in the same family can vary on how well they compartmentalize. For example, live oak trees are very wind resistant and great compartmentalizers while laurel oaks/water oaks are very poor compartmentalizers and not very wind resistant trees.
Another way to make your landscape more wind tolerant is planting trees in groups. In a natural forest setting, winds normally blow over a stand of trees instead of blowing through them unlike the total exposure faced by an individual, open-grown tree. Grouping trees together in tree islands/communal plantings simulates how trees grow naturally and mimics the buffering effect of trees within a natural forest community. But remember to use minimum tree spacing requirements which are typically planting trees at least 15-20 foot on center for tree species that develop large canopy crowns. In order for a tree to develop proper taper a certain amount of wind exposure is also necessary. Some examples of Florida native tree species that are often found growing in groups include slash pine, bald cypress, live oak and sabal palm.
Addressing any root defects that may be present before planting will also aid tree establishment and help ensure a well anchored root system. Some additional information about tree root pruning is available at: (http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/roots.shtml). Remember to plant your tree slightly above grade, install the recommended bracing system and to remove any circling, plunging and girdling roots that are present. The use of Florida Grade No. 1 (Grading Standard for Nursery trees set by FDACS) or above rated trees is also recommended as these trees are of high quality with excellent structure. Trees of this grade typically have greater vigor, establish faster and are free of structural defects commonly present on poorer quality/lower grade trees. Some additional information on proper tree planting and bracing is available at: ( http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/planting2.shtml).
Here are some high wind resistant native south Florida trees:
Gumbo limbo Green buttonwood Geiger tree
White stopper Redberry stopper Spanish stopper
Lignum vitae Dahoon holly Krug’s holly
Black ironwood Bald cypress Pond cypress
FL silver palm Cabbage/Sabal palm FL thatch palm
Key thatch palm Myrtle oak Live oak
Sand live oak
Here are some medium-high wind resistant native south Florida trees:
Here are some medium-high wind resistant native south Florida trees:
Pond apple Satinleaf Royal palm
Pigeon plum Wild tamarind Sweetbay magnolia
Mastic tree Paradise tree West Indian mahogany
References
Duryea, M.L. 2008. Trees and Hurricanes. Website: http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/treesandhurricanes/index.shtml of the University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service. Gainesville, FL.
Gilman, E. 2005. Tree selection for landscapes. Website with 680 Tree Fact Sheets: http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/planting/TreeSelectionIntroduction.htm of the University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service. Gainesville, FL.
Crawford, P. 2005. Florida Gardening Series, Volume 3 – Stormscaping: Landscaping to Minimize Wind Damage in Florida. Color Garden Inc. Canton, GA. 168 pp.
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