Contact Me

Current Articles List

Home

Severe winds, cold temperatures and winter snows can damag a number of landscape trees and shrubs.

Damage includes broken branches, split trunks, leaning trees, snow-bent branches and dead or dying branch tips. The following information will help homeowners decide whether to attempt to salvage a small to medium-size plant.

Broken branches. If a branch has completely broken off, appearance of the surviving portion of a tree may determine whether it is worth salvaging. If the remaining tree is not too weird looking, then it is worth saving. If the remaining branches are not structurally sound, removal may be necessary.

If a jagged stub remains, cut it back to the trunk. This will promote healing of the break as the tree seals off the wound and eventually begins to cover it with bark. A large wound of several inches across will likely not heal over and decay may eventually enter the tree.

If the branch was “pulled” out of a trunk and left a depression, use a sharp knife to cut away loose bark around the wound. This will promote the formation of callus tissue around the damaged area and the tree will begin the process described above.

Wound dressings or paint are more for cosmetic purposes. Despite label claims, they do little to promote healing.

If the branch is partially broken or cracked, it may be possible to straighten it back up so that the torn surfaces can touch. Then wrapping the damaged portion with twine or something like duct tape may be successful. Tying string or twine around the broken branch and attaching it to nearby branches will be required for additional support.

Important note: if several days have passed since the damage occurred, the above treatment may not work because the damaged tissue will have dried and will not grow back together.

Leaning trees. I have observed several Leyland cypress trees leaning from the last big windstorm. If practical, they should be straightened up and supported by ropes that are tied to wooden landscape stakes or metal fence posts. The soil should be gently tamped around the roots.

Such trees will never be as stable as before unless new roots can grow to anchor them. Since this may take a few years, the trees should be supported for at least two growing seasons.

If a few roots have been uplifted and exposed, they may have desiccated and died. It still may be worth attempting to salvage a favorite tree. If too many roots have perished, you will know later in the summer if the tree will survive.

Leaning trees must be straightened up before the growing season because the new shoots will grow upward – not the same direction as the lean.

Snow damage. Narrow tree-like plants such as Arborvitae can suffer damage from heavy snows. Typically, a few branches will have bent under the weight of the snow and will not straighten back up without assistance.

Some of the bent branches will have to be cut out. Others can be tied back into the canopy with twine. When deciding whether to cut out a branch, focus on what will remain if it were missing. If a large hole will result, the effort to either lightly trim or tie the branch back up may be worth the trouble for appearance’s sake.

Some enterprising homeowners will tie twine every few feet around their trees in anticipation of a storm. This works very well to prevent damage from heavy snows.

Dead branch tips. Insects, diseases or cold temperatures can cause these. If a disease is suspected, cutting out the diseased twigs would be desirable. Oftentimes, this is not practical if the condition is widespread.

Cold damaged tips and twigs can be cut out for esthetic reasons. However, if left untouched, they may soon be covered by new growth that has sprouted from the live portion of a twig.

Dennis Tompkins is a Certified Arborist and WSU Master from the Bonney Lake-Sumner area. He provides small tree pruning, pest diagnosis, hazardous tree evaluations and other services to homeowners.