No tree safe from powerful storms
IF your garden managed to survive the last week of storms undamaged, whether it was Ophelia or Brian, consider yourself lucky. With autumn becoming later seemingly every year trees are holding their foliage later too. Couple this with the leaves being wet and sodden the weight that comes to bear on tree branches, trunks and root systems during autumn and early winter storms becomes literally unbearable.
Speaking with a nursery recently discussing this very fact they said twenty five years ago they used to lift their bare root plants in early October now it is more likely to be mid November before they feel it is safe to do so.
No tree is safe from storms of such force, it can devastate ancient, mature, established, newly planted and sappling trees alike. In these extreme conditions even secure staking may not be enough. I lost a two year planted prized very rare Quercus x hispanica ‘Diversifolia’ that, despite being well staked and tied, still managed to break off at the graft point with the stake and tie still intact.
Elsewhere in my garden a 15 year old Tilia ‘Petiolaris’ [weeping silver lime] has been flattened, the top of a Fraxinus ‘Raywood’ snapped off, an ornamental hawthorn flattened and a mature Dodonaea viscosa ‘Purpurea’ shrub ripped from the ground. To lose one of these trees is deflating but the multiples is a little saddening. I have also noted the amount of wind scorch visible on remaining leaves, this may be down to the fact that sea salt was apparently carried well in land by the winds of Ophelia in particular and may have had an effect of plants usually protected from this.
So what to do if you are clearing the aftermath of these storms. If you have damage to a large tree, either completely felled or with large branch damage you may have to call in a professional tree surgeon. It may be tempting to borrow a chainsaw and have ago yourself but this can be highly dangerous without the additional protective equipment, training and experience of such work. Felled trees can move even when on the ground during cutting and climbing or using a ladder to get at broken branches while using a chainsaw without training is fool hardy. A tree that has been badly damaged but still has some semblance of a branch structure can be cleaned up and left hopefully to recover over the next few years. Those larger trees that have fallen will have to be cut to the ground and logged.
If you have a tree surgeon in they will be able to grind the tree stump to down below ground level which is an advisable option. Some trees that have been planted over the last five years that may have broken their tying straps or had just seemingly no longer needed support may be saveable if they still have a good portion of the roots intact in the ground.
A blown over tree will usually have had its roots ripped out from one side only leaving at least fifty percent of the roots relatively undamaged. If the tree is of a size that it is possible to bring it back up to be straight then this is an option. Be aware that this tree will then need very heavy supports for the next five years and even then may be vunerable to even lighter storms than we experienced recently.
Two heavy 100mm round tree stakes with a 100mm x 50mm cross bar between them to which the tree is straped is a minimum requirement. A larger tree may need four guide wires or ropes attached, these should be located from positions on all sides of the tree fixed to short tree stakes banged into the ground.
These storms are a little warning to of planting large trees close to houses and buildings, lovely as they may look bear in mind the damage a falling one might cause even in ten years time.
Unless a shrub has been completely uprooted any damaged branches can be removed and in general the plant will recove in a couple of years. Herbaceous plants may have been flattened but these will suffer no long term damage. The winds certainly brought an end to my late flowering plants most now devastated.