HOW TO PREPARE YOUR TREES FOR THIS STORM SEASON
From June to October, Perth usually experiences some wilder weather that can pose potential threats to property, people and pets. Gail force winds, flash flooding, hail and lightning can all be causes of destruction across Perth Metro suburbs during our winter months.
But it’s important to note that storms can occur throughout any season so regular maintenance of the trees on your property can go a long way to ensuing your safety and to reduce the likelihood of damage to your property.
Here are our top tips for preparing your trees to survive Perth’s winter storms:
1. Have your trees inspected regularly
We will be able to identify if your trees have any significant damage such as dead branches, decaying wood or signs of disease and then present you with a management plan before it develops into a safety issue.
This can be a time consuming and difficult job to the untrained eye, so its best to enlist a trade qualified arborist to assess the risk factors of your trees.
2. Trim hazardous branches
It’s essential to receive a professional assessment from a qualified arborist about which branches or whole trees may pose a threat to your home in a storm.
Regular pruning not only will remove dead or weak branches that might break in a storm, but it also encourages proper growth and structure of your trees so that they become more resistant to storm damage.
3. Anchor young trees with stakes for support
Rope and stakes can offer support to juvenile or recently planted trees to help keep them upright in rough winds.
When anchoring your trees with stakes, make sure you leave enough slack in the rope for the tree to bend with the wind. Anchoring a tree too tightly without space for it to move can make it more prone to being blown over or broken.
Once a storm has passed, make sure you remove any stakes and rope, to ensure they don’t interfere with the long-term health and strength of your tree.
4. Keep the roots strong
While we can’t see them at work, the roots are critical in the holistic strength and stability of your tree. Roots that are strong and deep are naturally better at withstanding storms than trees’ whose roots are weak or shallow.
Minimising activity that might disturb surrounding soil is the best way to keep your tree’s roots deeply grounded. Excavations, construction work and similar activities can adversely affect the soil system, compromising the integrity of the soil around the roots.
The stronger your tree’s roots are, the more likely it is to hold up during some wild weather.
While storm-proofing trees is not as popular as storm-proofing a home, we believe that the former benefits the latter, by protecting your whole property during cases of extreme weather. Prevention and preparation are almost always worth the extra effort, since storm-proofing your trees is also an investment in their health and longevity.
We recommend consulting with professional, qualified and insured arborists like Real Tree Solutions to make sure you’re storm-proofing your trees in the most effective manner. Not all trees require the same level of protection and some may need more help than others.
Professional arborists like Real Tree Solutions will be able to offer you the best practices and managements plans to suit the needs of your trees, all year round.
And if your trees do sustain damage this winter, our emergency call out response times are some of the fastest in Perth, so you can have peace of mind that Real Tree Solutions will take care of you and your trees, whether it’s prevention or cure!
Make an appointment for a risk assessment and health inspection of your trees here.
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