There are many ways to protect your property during tornado season, including taking steps to protect your trees. An arborist can help you care for your trees before and after severe weather. This guide outlines how you and your tree care expert can help your trees withstand severe weather.

4 Tree Treatment Tips for Tornado Season

1. Pruning the Trees

Keeping your trees strong enough to withstand heavy winds involves caring for them all year. If you don’t know enough to prune your trees on your own, then an arborist can do it for you. Essentially, cutting away damaged or dead limbs will protect the rest of the tree and allow it to continue to grow and thrive. You can also cut away branches that are too near the home to prevent costly storm damage.

2. Inspecting the Roots

If you have a tree with weak roots, it may not take a very strong storm to overturn the entire tree. By looking after the roots all year long, you can ensure they will be stronger and deeper when tornado season does arrive. This may involve widening the mulch ring, or asking your arborist to treat the roots with nutrients that will help them grow stronger. You should also take the time to water the roots regularly since your tree needs water to grow thicker and deeper roots.

3. Shaping Future Growth 

Your tree may have split branches or limbs that grow at an awkward angle, which can increase the risk that the tree will be destroyed in severe weather. You can reduce the need for storm damage cleanup by hiring an arborist to tie these limbs with steel cables and bolts. The cables are flexible enough to allow growth, but control how that growth shapes the limbs. Branches that are bound in cables are also protected against breaking in stormy weather.

4. Installing Lightning Protection

A lightning protection system utilizes a copper conducting unit that’s connected to a grounding rod. This system reduces the chances that lightning will strike trees on your property. The system can also draw the electrical surge down into the ground so that it won’t arc and hit your home, or another structure.

When a storm does damage your property, working with an arborist that offers cleanup services can make it easier to deal with the aftermath. Servicing Dothan and the surrounding counties, TrimCo Tree Experts offer the expertise you need to care for your property throughout the year. Covered by workers compensation insurance and fully-trained, their employees can help you care for all of the trees on your property. You can learn more about their services by visiting their website. Call (334) 791-2087 to request their tree care services.