High winds from a hurricane not only can bring disaster to your home, but to your yard as well! The best way you can have a chance of keeping too much damage from happening, is to take precautions well before hurricane season to prepare your palms and landscaping.
Prepare Your Palm Trees
Palm trees love tropical weather, which makes Florida the perfect home for them! This particular tree requires preparation and maintenance all year to protect it during hurricane season.
To increase the strength of your palm trees, they must be fertilized at least two to three times a year, approximately every 4-6 months, to ensure proper nutrition. Additionally, palm tree owners should remove brown/dying fronds. Fronds are the source of health and nutrition for a palm tree and they need to be in top-notch shape before a storm hits. Pruning your palm tree too much can actually be detrimental to the overall health of your palm. However, you should remove coconuts prior to a hurricane, as they can become dangerous projectiles.
If you are looking for palm trees that are particularly adapted to hurricane conditions, choose a species such as Sabel Minor or Serenoa for your lawn. Work with a professional company, such as Three Seasons, to keep your palms in great condition both before and after hurricane season!
Tips on Preparing Your Landscaping
Landscaping can be easily destroyed by flying debris in strong winds, as well as salt from saltwater storm surges. Here are some tips to help you tackle storm preparation more easily:
- Pick the produce from your garden. Once the storm hits, floodwater and winds can destroy any produce left in your garden. Remove all viable produce and bring them indoors.
- Stake newly planted trees. Trees that are new in your yard do not have a well-developed root system yet, which means they can be easily torn from the ground. Stake them prior to the storm to keep them from being airlifted and destroyed.
- Ensure all drainage systems. Prevent any backup or flooding of water on your property. Standing water over saturates the ground and can cause trees to fall easier.
- Prune your plants at the beginning of the storm season. Pruning prior to a storm can keep plant debris from becoming projectiles.
- Potted plants that are tall should be laid on their sides. Tall plants are vulnerable to being snapped or becoming bent from high winds. Also, the plant may act like a sail and catch the wind, causing it to potentially fall over and break its pot.
As a Florida homeowner, it is important to take action when the threat of a hurricane is in the forecast. By following our tips, you will be doing your part to remove any items that could become a danger to others, while also preserving your landscape.
