Garden Club of Cape Coral | Hurricane preparations include your yard
By CAROLE KERNS
news@breezenewspapers.com
As I look out the window into my backyard, I realize that hurricane season is fast approaching. Although the hurricane season officially begins June 1, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has recorded that 96% of the major hurricane days in Florida occur from August through October. This is known as peak hurricane season. With this in mind, we still have time to take action to reduce the damage to our landscape that might result from a tropical storm or hurricane. Here are some steps we can follow to help protect our yards from possible storms.
Plants: Trim long, lanky stems by removing a third of their length and cutting just above the node (the point where the leaf grows from the stem). This will encourage new, bushy growth to form on your plants and make them more storm resistant. A good example is the Clusia (Clusia rosea). It is a densely foliated plant with a short trunk and thick, oval, glossy leaves. It can grow to 25 to 30 feet tall, which makes it vulnerable to strong winds. People use them as a privacy hedge or as a free-standing plant. The plant should be trimmed to encourage even growth and can be trimmed to a minimum of 4 to 6 feet. If not trimmed, the plants will likely bend or be uprooted in a severe storm and will have to be pruned and staked after the storm. If staking is necessary for any plant or tree, it should be only temporary, so that the plant can develop a strong trunk and root system. When planting your garden, plants that can grow together will lead to a dense root system where the roots intertwine and grow at different levels. This will help them stay in the ground during a storm.
Palms: Trim palms by following the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) best practices. UF/IFAS research suggests that the “hurricane cut” or “pineapple pruning” for palms before a hurricane weakens palm trees, causing them to become more vulnerable to storm damage. The recommended practice is to cut only brown, dead fronds hanging below a horizontal line (such as the 9:00 and 3:00 hands on a clock). Leave as much green as possible. These green fronds provide essential nourishment for palms and allow the palms to be blown more naturally to protect the crown (the actively growing tissue in the top of the palm). Self-cleaning palms, such as the Christmas palm (Adonidia merrillii), foxtail palm (Wodyetia bifurcate) and royal palm (Roystonea regia), need no pre-hurricane pruning, since they naturally drop their dead fronds. Make sure that all dropped fronds and yard debris are cleared away before a storm or they can become projectiles. Remove any coconuts or large palm seeds from your palms. These can tear off and become dangerous. Removing them will not harm the palm.
Trees: Check your trees for any rotting branches or roots. Prune away dead branches that might be blown away in heavy winds. Be sure they are correctly cut. A bad cut can create a wound that will likely become diseased. An unhealthy tree will be more likely to fall during a severe storm. Do not wait until right before a hurricane to do any pruning, or you will need to find a place to store the debris during the storm. Because young trees do not have a mature root system to provide a strong anchor, you should stake them before a hurricane. One way to do this is to drive 2 x 4s deep into the ground and tie your tree to the stakes. Keep the tie-downs loose enough so that the tree can move in the wind. If you have any questions or concerns about the trees in your yard, consult a certified arborist.
Mulch: It is not necessary to mulch during the hurricane season. Summer rains and winds frequently wash mulch from plant beds onto streets and into storm drains which negatively affects our water bodies. It is best to replace mulch when peak season ends, usually toward the end of October. If you are starting a new landscape bed in the summer, mulch cautiously being mindful of water potentially moving the mulch to unintended places.
Fertilizer: Most of the rains that fall within a year do so between June and September. There is no need to fertilize to prepare your plants for the summer, since this might cause harm to the environment when fertilizer runoff is leached into sensitive water bodies. Multiple municipalities across the state of Florida restrict the use of fertilizer containing nitrogen and phosphorus on turf or landscape plants between June 1 through Sept. 30. This includes Lee, Charlotte and parts of Collier County.
Irrigation: Turn off the irrigation system a day or two before a severe storm or hurricane hits. If a tree comes down and breaks the water line, the water can add to flooding issues.
Gardening has been shown to lighten our mood and lower levels of anxiety and stress. Our gardens create a soothing and natural environment in which we can relax and enjoy nature’s beauty. By taking some steps to protect our landscape from possible severe weather, we can save countless hours of unnecessary work and preserve our place of tranquility.
Carole Kerns is a Master Gardener Volunteer with UF/IFAS Lee County Extension and a volunteer at the Berne Davis Botanical Garden.