Prepare Trees for Summer Thunderstorms and Adverse Weather

May brings plenty of summer thunderstorms and adverse weather to Delaware and Pennsylvania. Those thunderstorms, in turn, bring plenty of risks to properties that have trees, especially fully-grown ones. If these trees are not properly prepared for powerful storms, they can significantly threaten your property and safety. As a result, homeowners need to practice proper tree trimming and pruning in their landscapes to reduce the risks of damage to their homes, nearby structures or vehicles. Below are tips on how to prepare trees for summer thunderstorms.

•  Tree trimming and pruning
• Cabling and bracing
• Tree removal

Regular tree inspections are crucial for maintaining safe and healthy trees. You can identify potential risks early and take appropriate action by inspecting them for signs of decay, pest infestations, and other problematic issues. For instance, if your trees are near a structure like your home or garage, you can remove any overhanging limbs that may cause damage during a summer thunderstorm or adverse weather. A professional tree care service company, like Stein Tree Service, can help you evaluate the health of your trees and resolve issues such as overhanging branches, especially if those hazardous branches are in particularly difficult areas, like near power lines.

Pruning trees to remove dead or weak branches is especially important for two reasons.

1. Regular pruning helps significantly reduce wind resistance or drag on trees and prevent damage in intense storms. However, over-thinning is a risk, so work with a tree specialist to ensure proper results from tree trimming and pruning of landscapes.
2. The strong winds during a thunderstorm can cause weak or dead branches to break and fall, damaging nearby property or injuring people. So, pruning and trimming can be an effective aid to prepare trees for summer thunderstorms.

Pruning and trimming is also good preventive maintenance for other issues that affect trees, like pests and diseases.

Summer storms and adverse weather can bring lightning, strong winds, and heavy rain. Lightning, in particular, poses significant risks to trees. However, with the right preventive measures, you can minimize the risk of lightning strikes and preserve your tree’s health. Tree lightning protection strategies, for instance, can help keep your trees safe, healthy, and protected. By investing in such preventive care, you’re ensuring the long-term safety and health of your trees.

If a tree is located less than 10 feet from a structure and is struck by lightning, the strike can jump, or side-flash, to conductive materials on your house, like downspouts and gutter systems. So, by taking preventive measures to protect your tree from lightning, you can reduce the risk of damaging your home at the same time.

to bigger items. Small twigs, leaves, and debris can easily be picked up and put in the appropriate trash bins. Smaller and mid-sized branches may be dried out for later use during the fall as fire kindling.

Even if your favorite tree was split during a strong storm, the tree may be salvageable. Consult with an arborist as soon as possible following the damage.

If a tree’s leader has been completely lost to storm damage (or disease), with good tree care in Wilmington, DE, you might be able to have training for a replacement leader. Training a replacement leader — in other words, replacing the main trunk of a tree due to situations like canopy loss or complete splitting — is a form of storm damage arborists treat. This process typically involves selecting a new branch as the main trunk and guiding its growth to ensure it develops into a strong, central leader. Encouraging a replacement requires continual monitoring, with pruning done on at least a quarterly basis. Your beloved tree may thrive once again if proper tree care is practiced.

Stein Tree Service can help with all tree trimming and pruning on your Wilmington, DE property. Prepare trees for summer thunderstorms and adverse weather with professional trimming and pruning. Contact us today for a free consultation.