Are You Out of Your Trees?

By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy wikimedia

Fortunately for all us northern Floridians, last year’s hurricane season went by without a hitch.  That’s good, because the two years previous gave the area a brutal one two punch.  Aside from tearing shingles of many homes, hurricanes Matthew and Irma caused a great deal of flood damage and lots of downed trees.  While shoring up your home against rain and flood is something that I can’t really help you with (other than providing insurance coverage), when it comes to keeping you from having any undue anxiety over your trees, I can give you some advice.

Trees can be a blessing or a curse.  When the dog days of summer hammer us with months of 90+ degree temperatures, shade trees can help us keep our cool.  They can also save you money by lowering your electric bill, since a shaded house doesn’t require nearly as much power to cool as one that has to take everything the Florida Sun can throw at it.  The bad news is when the high winds associated with squalls and hurricanes make the rain blow sideways, sometimes the strain is too much for trees to take and they come crashing down.  If they hit your home or your vehicle, the damage can be extreme, especially if the tree falls in the middle of a storm which can cause extensive water damage after the fact.

1.      All trees are not created equal. – Even oak trees are not the same, since water oaks are more likely to tip over than live oaks.  Water oaks are also more likely to shed limbs during a storm. When you realize that oak limbs can weigh as much as entire pine trees, having one of these babies take a tumble onto your roof could be game, set and match for your home.  Even the way that trees fall is not uniform, since oaks and magnolias topple over, while pines tend to snap halfway up the trunk and fall to earth like a spear.

2.      A pruned tree is a happy tree. – In a forest, trees are limited in their breadth by the other trees around them.  This not only keeps them from spreading beyond their ability to bear their own weight, but adjacent trees help to cushion the blow that a storm can throw at any individual tree.  Trees growing next to most homes have a tendency to grow much broader than those in the forest.  This can eventually provide instability that can be exploited by high winds.  Even Spanish moss that takes residence in oak trees can add to the amount of weight a tree has to support.  As strong as a mighty oak is, there are limits to the amount of stress it can tolerate.  The secret to keeping your trees standing is to have them pruned every few years to relieve some of the stresses they are forced to deal with.  It also eliminates dead or dying limbs which are ten times as likely to fall during a storm.

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3.      Be careful where you plant trees. – Aside from having the potential to damage a roof or flatten a car, tree can also undermine foundations or fences and short out the power to an entire neighborhood if it comes down.  Therefore, make sure when you plant a tree that you take everything from its eventual height to its root structure into consideration when you site it. 

4.      Water you doing?  – While most homeowners lavish far too much water on their lawns, the sad fact is many provide far too little to the trees on their lot.  Just like grass, trees need water to thrive, especially during the drier months or when drought occurs.  During the last major drought in 1998, fire damage caused when a half million acres of trees in northeast Florida went up in smoke.  While a homeowner can’t stop the woods from catching fire, they can reduce the chances of trees and shrubs on their property from burning by making sure they get enough water.

According to University of Florida Researcher Ed Gilman, recommends using as little as 1-gallon per shrub and 2-gallons per tree every four days during dry periods.  Don’t use a sprinkler.  Instead apply the water directly to the root ball.  While oak trees don’t require water (unless they’re saplings), palm trees do.  Serious gardeners can also get their hands on a soil moisture monitor to measure just how dry the soil really is. 

5.      Into every life a little fertilizer will fall. – While trees in the forest don’t require fertilizer, those in urban landscapes sometimes do.  Live oak trees benefit from an application of fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.  A 30:10:7 ratio slow release fertilizer will help the production of root hairs that oaks use to gather water and nutrients. 

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6.      The root of all evil. – Another thing you can do to keep your shade trees healthy is to protect the root structure.  That means taking care where you drive fence posts and position garden sheds, whose concrete foundation can impinge on roots.  It also means keeping sod at bay near the area where the tree roots first enter the soil.  Better to have a border of mulch around the base of a tree to keep it from competing with your lawn for food and water.

7.      Cable car to the stars. – While trees don’t take cable cars, they sometimes need the assistance of cabling to help them stand upright.  Cables can help a crooked tree eventually straighten up and grow right and it can help a diseased or damage limb heal.  While it takes the knowledge and skill of an arborist to design and construct a cable system that can take the stress off a mighty oak, spending a little now could save you a lot of heartache later if it helps keep your tree healthy and off your home when the next big blow comes along.

The secret to keeping your home safe and sound through even the biggest blows is to keep a weather eye on your shade trees long before the start of hurricane season.  To do otherwise puts you at risk of being out of your trees when you need their shelter the most.

Catherine Powell is the owner of A Plus All Florida, Insurance in Orange Park, Florida.  To find out more about saving money on your homeowner's insurance, check out her website  at  http://aplusallfloridainsuranceinc.com/