It is common knowledge that trees move in response to the presence of wind; nonetheless, it may come as a surprise to realise that this natural movement actually affects the way a tree develops over time. It causes the tree to divert its resources to other regions of the tree, such as developing thickness at the base of the trunk, creating stronger junctions at the branches, or producing wood that is both more robust and more flexible.
There is a possibility that the tree will continue to shrink in height and will also produce smaller leaves. This process, known as thigmomorphogenesis, may be observed in a wide variety of plant species and even has a name: thigmomorphogenesis. This ability to gently alter shape and structure in response to wind has even been given a name.
However, wind also has the potential to have negative impacts. To start, flowing air can occasionally remove moisture from the leaf of the plant more quickly than the plant can replace it. This is especially true during the winter months for evergreen trees. Additionally, the soil close to the plant dries out more quickly when there is wind. A gust of wind that is extremely powerful can blow off leaves and shatter branches, and in extreme cases, it can even uproot the entire plant.
We are in luck because with the right selection of vegetation and the application of a few helpful gardening practises, we are able to make the most of the positive effects that the wind has to offer, reduce the negative effects that it has, and cultivate gorgeous, healthy plants in all of our outdoor areas.
6 Steps To Protect Your Home Against High Winds
Imagine that Environment Canada has just issued a warning about a possible windstorm for your region. Is the location of your house dangerous? We have compiled a list of precautions that you may take to protect your home from being damaged by wind in order to assist you in getting ready for the next storm.
Step 1: Fix What’s Broken.
In the event that there is a windstorm, maintaining your home and repairing items like loose fence boards or roof shingles that are peeling will prevent further damage that will be more expensive. It is almost certain that the cost of repairs will be less expensive than the cost of repairing the damage caused by the storm.
If you don't have enough time before a storm to get anything fixed, check to see if anything needs fixing, and if it does, attempt to make a few temporary repairs so that broken components don't come loose and start flying around. Check this list of affordable Perth Arborist to help you decide which services to choose.
Step 2: Secure Outdoor Items
In the event of a strong gust of wind, items such as loose patio furniture, barbecues, garbage, recycling, and compost bins, as well as sports equipment, have the potential to become lethal projectiles. Before a storm hits, you should take a stroll around your property and secure loose items by bringing them inside or tying them down. Place your vehicle in a parking spot that is not near any trees, street lamps, or power wires. If you can, store your car in a garage. In addition to that, remember to bring your animals indoors.
Step 3: Examine Trees And Shrubs.
Strong gusts combined with loose branches make for a dangerous situation. Maintain healthy conditions for the trees and bushes, and remove any dead wood from the landscape as soon as possible to avoid any consequences (check your municipal bylaws before you do this). If you do not feel confident cutting the branches yourself, you should consider hiring a professional. Remove any damaged branches from the tree before the storm. However, you should use extreme caution because you could receive an electric shock if the branches are in contact with any hydro cables.
Step 4: Identify Vulnerable Entry Points.
There are four vulnerable areas in a house: the roof, the windows, the doors, and the garage. In the event that they are in poor condition, they are more likely to sustain severe damage during a windstorm. When there is a strong wind, roofs are especially susceptible to damage. Regularly inspect your home's vulnerable areas and attend to any necessary repairs as soon as possible. Make sure that all of the doors and windows are shut and locked before a storm hits your area.
Step 5: Prepare An Emergency Plan.
Pick a secure location inside your house or place of business. Ensure that there is a kit for emergencies that has a flashlight (and spare batteries! ), a first aid kit, blankets, food supplies, and water.
Step 6: Take Shelter!
- If you’re at home, take refuge in the basement or go to a small interior room in the centre of the house. Don’t stand near doors or windows.
- If you’re outside in an open area with no shelter nearby, take cover in a ditch or hollow. Lay face down on the ground and protect your head with your hands.
- If you’re in your car, open the windows slightly and park off the road away from tall objects and power lines with your parking brake set.
Frequently Asked Questions
A cover can help protect a tree from the wind, pests and other types of damage. When you use a cover, place it over the tree's top and then tape the bottom around the trunk. After the winds are over, you need to remove the cover so the tree can absorb the sunlight.
Watering trees on windy days can be tricky. If the wind is strong enough, it can blow the water away from the roots of the tree, making it difficult for the tree to absorb the moisture it needs. In addition, wind can cause evaporation, which means that the tree will need to be watered more frequently.
However, if you water your trees early in the morning or late at night when the wind is typically the calmest, you can help reduce evaporation and ensure that your tree gets the hydration it needs. With careful planning, you can keep your trees healthy and happy, even on windy days.
You can do several things to protect a tree from wind and rain. One is to plant the tree in a location that is sheltered from strong winds. Another is to stake the tree, which will help hold it in place during high winds. You can also put a layer of mulch around the base of the tree, which will help hold moisture in and keep the roots healthy.
Additionally, you should provide regular maintenance to the tree, such as watering during dry periods and pruning dead branches. By taking these steps, you can help ensure that your tree stays healthy and survives severe weather conditions.
Wind can be a major problem for gardeners, causing damage to plants and even uprooting them completely. To protect your plants from wind damage, you can do a few things. First, choose plants that are naturally resistant to wind.
For example, grasses and some shrubs have deep roots that help anchor them in place, while other plants have flexible stems that bend rather than break in strong winds. You can also take steps to reduce the wind speed near your plants.
For example, planting them near a fence or hedge can provide shelter from the wind and add an outdoor fabric screen. Finally, make sure your plants are well-watered.
Dry soil is more likely to be eroded by the wind, so keeping your plants well-hydrated will help reduce the risk of wind damage. By taking these precautions, you can help to protect your plants from the damaging effects of wind.
Trees are an important part of any landscape, providing shade, beauty, and a home for wildlife. However, trees need regular care to stay healthy and look their best. Here are some tips for tree care:
- Prune regularly to remove dead or diseased branches and encourage new growth.
- Water deeply and regularly during dry periods.
- Mulch around the tree's base to help conserve moisture and prevent weeds.
- Fertilise annually with a slow-release fertiliser designed for trees.
By following these simple tips, you can ensure that your trees will stay healthy and beautiful for many years.
How To Protect Young Trees From Wind Damage
To prevent wind damage, young trees should be protected. Young trees are very vulnerable to the effects of the weather. Your recently planted tree might be uprooted by even the slightest burst of wind if it is caught unprepared. Were you concerned that a newly planted tree would be felled by the wind? Protect young trees from the damage caused by wind by following these guidelines.
Find The Prime Location
The easiest strategy to shield your tree from strong winds is to plant it in a position that is sheltered from the wind. Look around your yard for spots that provide a natural barrier from the wind. For example, planting near buildings or other tall structures may assist stop the wind from reaching your young tree and prevent it from being damaged. If you plant your tree on the east side of your house, it will be shielded from the harsh winds that blow from the west to the east, which is the most common direction in which the wind blows.
Add Some Support Stakes
Have you ever come across young trees that are planted with poles and tethered to them? These stakes are helpful in stabilising saplings and young trees that are still delicate. The addition of support stakes is a straightforward do-it-yourself project that can be finished in under an hour. A bendable substance should be used to secure the tree's trunk to a number of metal or wooden stakes. Give yourself some wiggle room. Even though it will rock back and forth during windy days, the tree won't be able to topple over because of the stakes. Reinforcement in the form of stakes is beneficial when the tree is still developing a strong trunk, root system, and branch structure.
Use a Protective Tree Cover
It is a common misconception that coverings are only effective at preventing frost damage to young trees during the winter months. They can also shield young trees from the damaging effects of the wind. How exactly does a tree cover function? It is helpful to break up the force of severe winds by covering a young tree from top to bottom. On the other hand, you should only use the cover when there is a breeze. Be careful to take it off the remainder of the time so that your young tree can get the appropriate amount of water and sunlight.
Remember To Water Regularly
When we talk about water, one of the best methods to protect your young tree from wind damage is to make sure it stays hydrated. When a tree is dehydrated, its branches and roots become weaker and more unstable. However, if you provide the plant with an adequate amount of water, the roots and branches will develop more quickly and become more robust. It is important to remember to bring out the watering can on a consistent basis if you do not want to discover that your tree has fallen over on a windy day.
Don’t Forget To Prune The Limbs.
It is a magnificent experience to observe the development of a young tree, but you should take care not to let the branches get out of hand. It is essential to perform routine trimming. Your tree will be more resistant to being uprooted by strong winds if you prune it and remove any dead or superfluous limbs. Additionally, it lessens the likelihood that a sudden storm could cause property damage due to falling branches.
How To Protect Your Trees From Summer Storms
Strong gusts and intense downpours can cause damage to trees during the summer months. This can have a negative impact on the trees and turn them into a potential safety risk. Here are a few things you can do to safeguard your trees and reduce the impact of any potential storms.
Inspect Trees For Weakness In The Spring
During a severe weather event, a tree that has been weakened by pests or disease will be far more susceptible to cracking and splitting than a healthy tree would be. It is vital to identify trees that are susceptible to damage early in the season so that proper precautions can be taken to avoid any problems.
An investigation of each tree's condition, from the leaves all the way down to the roots, is a component of the tree assessment services that are provided by expert arborists. In addition to this, arborists are able to provide advice on how to care for diseased trees, including how to cure them and how to support them, as well as how to stop an infestation from spreading to other trees on your land.
Prune Trees To Maintain A Healthy Shape
A tree that has not been properly shaped and maintained is more likely to sustain damage from strong winds than a tree that has been properly shaped and maintained. Examples of structural flaws include many leads or a disproportionately big crown. Because of this, doing routine trimming is an important component of safeguarding your trees from the effects of storm damage. If you're looking for tree removal services, you’re in the right place! Check Tree Amigos!
In addition to eliminating branches that could pose a risk to the surrounding area, pruning is beneficial to the tree's overall health. The structural integrity of your trees can also be helped maintained by the use of shaping procedures such as structural pruning and crown thinning. In general, trimming strengthens the resistance of trees to adverse weather conditions.
Reinforce Vulnerable Trees In Advance
If a disease, an infestation, or previous storm damage has weakened a tree, it may require the assistance of an arborist in order to bolster the tree's structural integrity and safeguard it against severe weather. Cabling and bracing are the two methods that are utilised for this purpose the majority of the time.
The process of cabling entails installing rods and straps between large branches in the upper canopy of the tree in order to secure them against high winds. Bracing, in which steel rods are used to buttress a trunk that has been fractured or split, is frequently employed in conjunction with it. After a storm, these methods can also assist in the healing process for trees that have been injured.
Storm And Disaster Services
In the event that severe weather causes damage to one or more of your trees, an arborist can evaluate the situation, determine what needs to be done to save your trees, and assist the trees in recovering after the occurrence. You will also benefit from cleanup services, which will remove broken or hazardous limbs still attached to the tree as well as fallen branches.
Repairing Storm Damaged Trees
Storms can inflict damage to trees in urban forests in addition to wreaking havoc on buildings and other types of property, such as residential homes, commercial structures, and power lines. There are six primary types of damage that can be caused by storms to trees: 1) blowing over, 2) failure of the stem, 3) failure of the crown, 4) failure of the root, 5) failure of the branch, and 6) lightning. Each subtype is the product of a unique combination of environmental factors and tree health issues that interact with one another.
The extent of the damage is typically quite minimal, with only the tree's most delicate limbs suffering any kind of harm. In most cases, the tree sustains either very little or no permanent damage as a result of this form of harm. To restore a shape that is more aesthetically acceptable, all that needs to be done is to clean up the broken twigs and branches and possibly perform some light pruning.
It is also possible for the tree to sustain severe damage, such as big broken branches, split crotches and the removal of bark, as well as splintering or splitting of the trunk. Lightning, gusty gusts, and intense ice storms are the most likely culprits in this incident. When a tree has sustained significant damage, the first question that needs to be answered is, "Is the state of the tree such that it would be worthwhile to keep it?" Take the time and make the effort to rescue a tree only if a sizeable percentage of the tree is still healthy and if, after the necessary repairs are completed, the tree will still be appealing to the eye and beneficial to the owner of the land.
Treating The Tree
Assuming the choice has been made to repair the tree, the next question is: “Am I capable of repairing the damage myself, or should I seek professional help?” If you do not have experience in the operation of such equipment and are not comfortable working off the ground, it may be in your best interest to have a qualified professional execute the work instead. When it has been decided that a tree can be saved in some way, the next step is to select the appropriate course of action to take.
- Take an inventory of the damage. There may be some broken branches that are still attached to the tree in some way, while other branches may only be partially attached, and in other instances, entire forks may be separated.
- Make a plan outlining which branches need to be pruned and where the cut for doing so should be made.
- Instead than cutting damaged branches in the middle of the branch, remove them at the point where they meet the nearest lateral branch, bud, or main stem.
Branch Removal
It is possible to remove branches with a diameter of less than three inches by using either pruning shears or a pole pruner. Shears or pruners that are sharp and well aligned will create a clean cut, not crush or shred bark tissue, and will reduce the amount of time needed for cleanup. When cutting away thicker branches, use a saw that's in good shape. When using a power saw, it is imperative to have a safety rope and harness in place. The 3-cut approach is the most effective method that also does the least amount of damage to the tree when removing huge branches without causing any more harm to the tree.
The undercut is the first cut in the sequence. Cut roughly 12 to 18 inches away from the main stem or branch of the tree, which the injured limb is attached to, from the underside of the tree. Cut into the branch to a depth of between one and one and a half inches, and then remove the saw blade before it starts to bind. The second cut, also known as the overcut, should begin around 2 to 3 inches beyond the undercut and should continue until the branch is completely gone.
The final cut, also known as the flush cut, is made in order to get rid of the remaining stub. Cut into the naturally occuring depression so that it is flush with the trunk or the branches. Pruning that is not done carefully can result in the death of the entire branch or in excessive sprouting, both of which can lead to the eventual development of more problems in the future due to the fact that sprouts typically have a limited lifespan and are only loosely attached.
Torn Bark
It is possible for the bark on huge limbs or the main trunk to become peeled off under certain circumstances. Lightning strikes make this a very prevalent occurrence in the environment. Remove all of the loose bark by carefully trimming it back to the place where it is still firmly connected. Be careful not to make cuts that are too deep into the tree's timber. Bark tracing is the term used to describe the process of cutting the bark. The wounds in the bark of the tree should, if at all feasible, be cut into an oval form, with particular attention paid to keeping the trace as narrow as possible. It's possible that this won't be easy in larger places. Nevertheless, this method of cutting the bark will promote quick healing while minimising the amount of wood deterioration that occurs.
Split Forks
It may be possible to repair some forks and major branches that have split apart or are partially broken without cutting off either one of the fractured branches. Unless they get assistance from someone with experience, most homeowners will not be able to complete work of this nature successfully on their own. It is feasible to draw the split pieces back together and attach them with a large diameter steel bolt and a threaded screw rod if the break is almost even. This is done by placing the bolt and rod into the split area.
The correct method for making repairs begins with bringing the two halves of the split back together using a winch or a small block & tackle. To obtain the most possible leverage, position this item between 6 and 8 feet above the split. It is necessary to drill holes all the way through both halves of the split where the bolt or rod will be placed. When there is a long split region, it is possible that two or more bolts will be required. In addition to the bolts, it is frequently helpful to place a steel cable several feet above the split point, which runs between the two primary branches of the split fork. When attaching the cable to each branch, lag screws should be used. Do not wind the cable around the branch, as this could cause it to become girdled over time. Because this cable system assists in holding the crotch together, it lessens the likelihood that it will break in any subsequent use.
Wound Treatments
After the pruning is finished, any wounds that are larger than 112 to 2 inches in diameter can be painted with pruning paint or treated with wound dressing. Recent studies have indicated that using paints and dressings does not likely hasten the body's natural ability to heal wounds. On the other hand, they could stop the skin from drying out and have some cosmetic benefit. You can choose from a variety of commercially available materials, or you could simply apply a couple of layers of orange shellac. Worrying about tree removal? Then, Tree Amigos tree removal solution is the right choice! In the same way, areas of peeled bark that have had tracings drawn on them can also be treated in this way.
Uprooted Trees
Storms of a sufficient severity can sometimes cause trees to be uprooted. If the tree is too big to be preserved, it will need to be cut down because it cannot be salvaged. If the tree is very small, it could be possible to use man wires or cables to straighten it and provide more support for it. In most cases, a power lift or other piece of specialised equipment is required in order to bring the tree upright. Do not undertake this method until between one-third and one-half of the roots are still embedded in the ground and the roots that are still exposed are generally compact and have not been disturbed.
Remove some soil from beneath the root mass of the tree before pulling it upright. This will allow the roots to be positioned at a depth that is below the present soil grade level. After the tree has been returned to its previous upright position, the hole should be backfilled with dirt. To assist in the consolidation of the soil and the elimination of voids, water the tree. Attaching two or three guy lines to the trunk of the tree at a point approximately two-thirds of the tree's height and to anchors placed some 12 to 15 feet from the base of the tree in order to keep the tree in its current location is a common practise that is performed when trees are newly transplanted.
Waste Disposal
There are a variety of applications for the materials that can be gleaned from downed or reclaimed trees. It is possible to cut the larger branches and use them as fuel. Compost the more manageable branches and twigs, or use them as firewood after cutting them up. If inhabitants of the area have access to chipping equipment, branches can also be processed into chips, which can then be used as compost, mulch, or for a variety of other landscaping reasons.