Trees and Hurricanes

Hurricane Irene was not kind to the trees in Onslow County.  During my post-storm inspection of the county I noticed a lot of trees that were down or damaged to the extent that they needed to be removed.  However, it was interesting to note that the majority of the damage was limited to a very small number of tree species.  Bradford pears and pecan trees definitely bore the brunt of the damage but there were a smattering of water oaks down as well. 

So what do we do now?  Many people are afraid of any tree in a hurricane but it is obvious that some tree species withstand these high wind events much better than others.  The University of Florida (UF) has done extensive research on tree survival in hurricanes.  This study looked at many factors that related to tree survival in hurricanes but today we are going to look at just one factor: species selection.  Some tree species are simply more resistant to wind than others.  It would be wise to take this fact into consideration when choosing trees for your property. 

Good trees for our area that show the highest level wind resistance based on this study include: American holly, yaupon holly, crape myrtle, southern magnolia, live oak, bald cypress, pond cypress, and sabal palm.  Those rated medium-high for wind resistance include: Japanese maple, river birch, ironwood, sweet bay magnolia, shumard oak and hickories.  Consider using these species to reduce future storm damage potential on your property.

Equally important to note is which trees fared most poorly in the UF study.  Common local landscape trees that showed the lowest wind resistance include: pecan, tulip poplar, Bradford pear, southern red, laurel and water oaks, Chinese elm, and Leyland cypress.  These species should be avoided in landscape plantings.  Pecans should be situated well away from structures and power lines.  Likewise, red and silver maples, sycamore, white and willow oaks, weeping willow, and American elm scored medium-low wind resistance so avoid these as well or use them only with caution. 

We will discuss how to assess a storm-damaged tree and other factors relating to hurricane-survival in future posts.  Meanwhile for more information about hurricanes and trees, check out the University of Florida’s site Trees and Hurricanes here http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/treesandhurricanes/.