Florida is just entering into, what looks like a busy and stormy season. Pinellas County advises all of its citizens to make sure that their yards and trees are prepared for the upcoming hurricane season. Part of getting your yard prepared is to make sure the yard is clear of loose items like furniture, grills and loose rocks. The largest part of hurricane tree preparation is to make sure your trees are ready to take mother natures brutal assault.
Easily Avoid Property Damage
While some homeowners have a yearly maintenance plan for their trees, many do not. For those that don’t it is incredibly important that their trees get evaluated for potential problems. A tree may be leaning, very large, or look unhealthy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the tree is a danger. If you are unsure if you should call someone to look at your property, there are things that you can look for.
If you see any of the above, make sure to contact your local arborist today.
Watch For “Hurricane Pruning” Scammers
You may have seen trucks with signs offering “Hurricane Pruning” driving around your neighborhood. While some of these may be reputable, a majority of them are scammers. What they do is perform pruning of your trees that is not only dangerous for your trees but also possibly illegal in some areas of Florida. Typically they either top a tree (also called hat-racking) or perform over-lifting.
Topping a tree removes the canopy, or top, of the tree. This technique removes limbs that may be vital to the trees health. When the tree regrows, it often become excessively heavy which can cause even more problems during future hurricane seasons.
Over-lifting is when the bottom half of the half of the trees upper portions are removed. While removing vital limbs and branches makes this technique similar topping, it also makes the treetop heavy. The weight is distributed less evenly in the tree making it much more likely to fall.
Proper Hurricane Tree Preparation
The correct way to prune a tree is something that takes years of practice and training to perfect. A highly trained arborist will do such a good job pruning your tree that your friends and neighbors won’t know that you have had anything done. Most importantly, only dead, injured and diseased branches are fully removed. Overweight branches are pruned and the rest of the may be thinned.
In the case of heavy branches, instead of removal, a certified tree service will reduce the weight on the branch. This preserves the trees aesthetics and ensures the tree is not over-pruned. The rest of the tree may be thinned, which reduces the wind resistance of the tree. This will ensure that the 70+ miles per hour winds will more easily pass through the tree while making sure the tree is still vibrant and healthy.
Only Trust Certified Arborist To Evaluate Your Trees
You have probably noticed that I keep mentioning “qualified” or “certified” arborist as being the best choice for tree care. While there are a few tree companies that aren’t certified but do good work, there is only one way to be sure to get proper hurricane preparation of your trees. You need to look for ISA Certified Arborist, like Sustainable Tree Care, any time you need your trees pruned. Of course if you didn’t prepare and you need emergency care for trees that were damaged by high winds or lightening we are available 24 hours a day to help you.
