3 Things You Can Do To Protect Your Trees Against Summer Storms

Summer weather can be unpredictable at times. You may experience sunny skies and high temperatures during the day, only to have a severe summer storm hit your home during the evening hours.

Summer storms have the potential to cause serious damage to your home's landscape. Your trees are especially vulnerable to the high winds that often accompany summer storms. It's not too late to take action to protect your mature trees against summer storms so that you can enjoy structurally sound and safe trees throughout the year.

1. Brace Young Trees

New trees can be added to your landscape during the spring months. While these new trees will eventually grow into centerpieces of your landscape, they may not be ready to withstand exposure to the elements that make up a summer storm.

Young and immature trees should always stay braced throughout the summer. A staking system can help brace young trees against strong wind gusts until the root system has had enough time to mature.

Even mature trees can sometimes benefit from bracing. Cables, props, and braces can be used to help support the weight of large limbs so that these limbs don't sustain any wind damage. A tree expert will be able to evaluate the trees in your yard to determine if bracing is necessary.

2. Mulch Around Trees

Another simple thing you can do to help protect your trees against damage during summer storms is mulch around each tree. Mulching can offer protection to a tree's root system when the tree is exposed to high winds. Summer storms have the potential to weaken the root system of your trees.

A weak root system leaves your trees susceptible to disease and limb damage that might compromise the growth of the tree over time. It's important that you select a wind-proof mulch so that your efforts to protect your trees will not blow away.

Pebbles or rock make great mulching options in wind-prone areas. These materials are heavy enough to remain in place during high winds, but they still allow water and air to permeate the soil and feed the root systems of your trees.

Your local tree expert can suggest other wind-proof mulches that can preserve the health and stability of your trees during the summer season.

3. Trim Your Trees

Regular tree trimming is critical to the stability of your mature trees. Professional trimming services do more than just improve the aesthetic of your trees — they can actually improve your trees' ability to withstand exposure to high winds.

Trees with a thick canopy and dense foliage can act as a windbreak. Any wind gusts passing through your area will be obstructed by the thick foliage in an untrimmed tree, with the tree absorbing the full impact of the wind gust.

Trimming can help thin out the canopy of any mature tree so that the amount of drag created by wind gusts is minimized. Instead of absorbing the force of each wind gust, a trimmed tree will allow wind to pass through without interference.

Only a professional should be trusted to trim your trees. Trimming must be done carefully to prevent damage to the canopy of a tree, and only experienced tree experts are capable of properly shaping and thinning trees to avoid wind damage during summer storms.

Don't let the summer storm season take a toll on the trees in your home's landscape. Work with a local tree expert to brace, mulch, and trim your trees now so that they will be prepared to stand up to even the most severe storm that passes through your area this summer.

Share