We have seen vast amounts of tree damage from this storm, particularly to evergreens. Following are some lessons to be learned from the damage.

Privacy Screens

Think before planting. Think about how high you want your screen to be to meet your screen needs. For instance, white pines, which can mature at 75+ feet should not be planted if you only need a 10 foot screen. Sometimes taller evergreen shrubs should be considered as opposed to trees for a shorter screen. Often taller growing trees will lose their lower limbs (the screen that is needed) as they mature.

Sunlight also needs to be considered. Leyland cypresses, a very popular fast growing tree (3-4 feet per year) needs a lot of sun to grow full. If Leylands are planted on the edge of woods, they will mostly grow on the side that is getting sunlight. This produces a lopsided Leyland as they mature. Shaded areas should have shade tolerant evergreens (i.e., hemlocks and hollies). Lopsided evergreens are some of the first to fall with heavy snow, ice and wind.

Screen Maintenance: I tell our clients that if they only need a 15-20 foot screen, then try to maintain their screen around that height. If they have a 40 foot Leyland, the extra 20 feet of unneeded volume can hurt them in a snow, ice, or wind storm. A more compact screen height and width is a safer screen.

Leaning Trees

Trees grow toward the sun. Taller growing evergreens (loblolly pines, white pines, cedars, etc.) that grow on the edge of the woods grow toward the open sky, often toward the yard or house. Inspect these trees regularly by standing at the base and looking up. Think about the next 2, 5, and 10 years. You can see where they will grow in the future by the direction they are headed now. Often they are growing at an angle because there is a straight dominant tree behind them. Removal of these leaning trees should be considered—we have taken many that have failed off of houses. Sometimes corrective pruning and weight reduction toward the lean can leave the tree safe enough to keep from having to remove it. While standing at the base of the tree, also look down. If the ground is beginning to upheave on the side away from the lean, removal is recommended sooner rather than later.

Duct Tape = Dry Feet

A nice trick for knee deep snow is to duct tape the bottom of your pants to your boots. This keeps snow from coming up your pants and into your boots. Please contact us if we can be of any help to you.