The Plant Man column
for publication week of 10/05/03 - 10/11/03
(755 words)
###

The Plant Man
by Steve Jones
www.landsteward.org


Storm-damaged trees and shrubs need special care


As you know, it's quite common for me to praise the beauty of Nature. But
there is another side we tend to ignore until it lands, quite literally, in
our own back yard.

The forces of Nature can be extraordinarily powerful and terribly
destructive. Many years of careful nurturing will often be severely damaged
or even destroyed in a matter of seconds. Hurricanes, tornadoes and severe
storms of every type uproot and strip trees and shrubs, and that can be
heartbreaking for both the professional landscaper and the average
homeowner.

In recent weeks, I have received several e-mails from readers asking for
advice on what to do about damaged or uprooted plants, and this seems like a
good time to address that important and timely subject.

The first thing you need to do is assess the amount of actual damage.
Sometimes, strewn branches and other debris can make a situation look worse
than it actually is. Take some time to clean up your landscape and remove
the odds and ends that are littering the site. Until you do this you can't
see the wood for the trees. Or is it the other way around?

Now for the damage appraisal. The damage can probably be categorized as
follows: Fallen trees, exposed roots, broken or torn limbs and "wounds".
Here is a brief overview of each of these categories.

Fallen trees.
Sadly, a large fallen tree is a lost cause, as a general rule. Unless you
want to get out a chainsaw and turn it into firewood, you'll need to call a
tree service to haul it away. Of course that still leaves you with the
stump. You can level off the stump and make it an ornamental feature, or
have a landscaper pull or dig it out. If they can pull it out (rather than
dig it out) the process is generally quicker and less expensive.

There's a good chance that a small, young tree will survive if you can reset
it quite quickly and if the roots are relatively undamaged. You might want
to stake it too, to help it "get back on its feet."

Exposed roots.
If the roots are exposed but the tree is not noticeably tilting, all that
might be needed is to re-cover the roots. I suggest you try to use the soil
that is already in the immediate vicinity and then add some mulch, such as
pine straw, to prevent the roots drying out.

Broken or torn limbs.
Cut back the damaged limbs to just outside of the branch collar. Be very
careful when cutting heavy limbs! You might need to make up to three
separate cuts, getting closer to trunk with each cut, to prevent the weight
of the limb tearing and stripping the bark as it falls. I suggest you
consider calling in a professional service to remove very large limbs. This
can be dangerous work!

Wounds.
Prune as lightly as possible after a tree or shrub has been storm damaged to
prevent adding to the "shock." Make clean cuts and only remove those
branches that have been damaged. Some experts suggest painting the newly
exposed cut with a tree-wound dressing; other experts say there's no
evidence to support such a course of action. You have to decide which expert
to believe. But like chicken soup, it might not help but it probably won't
hurt!

Speaking of experts, I highly recommend that you visit the following web
sites for a lot of very useful information about dealing with storm-damaged
trees and shrubs:

"The Storm-Damaged Landscape after a Disaster" (publication # 490-329) from
the Cooperative Extension at Virginia Tech.
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/disaster/...9/490-329.html

"Caring for Hurricane-Damaged Home Landscape Plants" by Robert J. Black of
the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_EP066

"Hurricane-Damaged Shade, Ornamental & Fruit Trees" by Dr. Richard Mullenax,
Extension Horticulture Department, Mississippi State University.
http://msucares.com/pubs/infosheets/is1355.htm

There are direct links to all three of these resources at my web site.
Simply go to www.landsteward.org and find this column archived under "The
Plant Man" heading. From there you can click on any of the links.

With a little TLC and a helping of sweat-equity, your storm-damaged
landscape can begin to regain – or even exceed – its former glory.

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and
landscaping to and for resources and additional
information, including archived columns, visit www.landsteward.org where you
can also subscribe to Steve's free e-mailed newsletter.

that was really nice, Earl.
madgardener zone 7, Sunset zone 36 Eastern Tennessee
"Earl Buchan" wrote in message
om...
The Plant Man column
for publication week of 10/05/03 - 10/11/03
(755 words)
###

The Plant Man
by Steve Jones
www.landsteward.org


Storm-damaged trees and shrubs need special care


As you know, it's quite common for me to praise the beauty of Nature. But
there is another side we tend to ignore until it lands, quite literally,
in
our own back yard.

The forces of Nature can be extraordinarily powerful and terribly
destructive. Many years of careful nurturing will often be severely
damaged
or even destroyed in a matter of seconds. Hurricanes, tornadoes and severe
storms of every type uproot and strip trees and shrubs, and that can be
heartbreaking for both the professional landscaper and the average
homeowner.

In recent weeks, I have received several e-mails from readers asking for
advice on what to do about damaged or uprooted plants, and this seems like
a
good time to address that important and timely subject.

The first thing you need to do is assess the amount of actual damage.
Sometimes, strewn branches and other debris can make a situation look
worse
than it actually is. Take some time to clean up your landscape and remove
the odds and ends that are littering the site. Until you do this you can't
see the wood for the trees. Or is it the other way around?

Now for the damage appraisal. The damage can probably be categorized as
follows: Fallen trees, exposed roots, broken or torn limbs and "wounds".
Here is a brief overview of each of these categories.

Fallen trees.
Sadly, a large fallen tree is a lost cause, as a general rule. Unless you
want to get out a chainsaw and turn it into firewood, you'll need to call
a
tree service to haul it away. Of course that still leaves you with the
stump. You can level off the stump and make it an ornamental feature, or
have a landscaper pull or dig it out. If they can pull it out (rather than
dig it out) the process is generally quicker and less expensive.

There's a good chance that a small, young tree will survive if you can
reset
it quite quickly and if the roots are relatively undamaged. You might want
to stake it too, to help it "get back on its feet."

Exposed roots.
If the roots are exposed but the tree is not noticeably tilting, all that
might be needed is to re-cover the roots. I suggest you try to use the
soil
that is already in the immediate vicinity and then add some mulch, such as
pine straw, to prevent the roots drying out.

Broken or torn limbs.
Cut back the damaged limbs to just outside of the branch collar. Be very
careful when cutting heavy limbs! You might need to make up to three
separate cuts, getting closer to trunk with each cut, to prevent the
weight
of the limb tearing and stripping the bark as it falls. I suggest you
consider calling in a professional service to remove very large limbs.
This
can be dangerous work!

Wounds.
Prune as lightly as possible after a tree or shrub has been storm damaged
to
prevent adding to the "shock." Make clean cuts and only remove those
branches that have been damaged. Some experts suggest painting the newly
exposed cut with a tree-wound dressing; other experts say there's no
evidence to support such a course of action. You have to decide which
expert
to believe. But like chicken soup, it might not help but it probably won't
hurt!

Speaking of experts, I highly recommend that you visit the following web
sites for a lot of very useful information about dealing with
storm-damaged
trees and shrubs:

"The Storm-Damaged Landscape after a Disaster" (publication # 490-329)
from
the Cooperative Extension at Virginia Tech.
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/disaster/...9/490-329.html

"Caring for Hurricane-Damaged Home Landscape Plants" by Robert J. Black of
the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_EP066

"Hurricane-Damaged Shade, Ornamental & Fruit Trees" by Dr. Richard
Mullenax,
Extension Horticulture Department, Mississippi State University.
http://msucares.com/pubs/infosheets/is1355.htm

There are direct links to all three of these resources at my web site.
Simply go to www.landsteward.org and find this column archived under "The
Plant Man" heading. From there you can click on any of the links.

With a little TLC and a helping of sweat-equity, your storm-damaged
landscape can begin to regain - or even exceed - its former glory.

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and
landscaping to and for resources and additional
information, including archived columns, visit www.landsteward.org where
you
can also subscribe to Steve's free e-mailed newsletter.