Storms can be very damaging to trees and cause broken branches, broken trunks, or even broken foundations. After such an event, property owners are often torn between the options of removing the storm-damaged tree or attempting to preserve it. For instance, it may be expensive to pay for tree removal, but the risk posed by a damaged tree left standing can be severe. To help you make an informed decision, the following tips for deciding when to remove a storm-damaged tree can be useful for assessing the situation and considering possible actions.
Assess the Severity of Damage
Trunk Splitting:
A trunk that has a deep crack and split in the center indicates that the tree is unable to support itself
Large Broken Branches:
These are major limbs and their status in being broken with hanging limbs is hazardous needing immediate attention.
Uprooting:
Unless the tree is standing straight after a storm its condition due to being wrenched half out of the ground, indicates that tree will almost certainly be dead and pose a danger. A professional arborist can assess the situation accurately, but clear indicators such as a tree that is out of the vertical alignment or one with a fissured trunk usually suggest that the tree will have to be cut down.
Evaluate the Location of the Tree
The other important factor is the position of the tree itself. Storm-damaged trees that are near the house, power lines, and other structures might need to be cut down. If such a tree is already leaning and has a rotted root ball, it could easily snap and fall, resulting in extensive damage.
Evaluate the Condition of the Tree
Before concluding that a tree affected by a storm should be cut down, consider the health of the tree in total. Trees that were pre-existing weak due to disease, decay, or pests before the storm will find it harder to pull through. Some indicators of ill health are as follows:
Cavities:
The presence of Cavities particularly within the main trunk or major branching is likely to depict that the tree is already dead.
Signs of rot:
It may also point to rotting within the tree if mushrooms or other kinds of fungi are found growing at its base.
Dying limbs:
A tree whose dead or dying limbs are more than a third of its surviving limbs appears to be dying and may also pose a danger to people.
Let’s say the storm hadn’t destroyed the health of the tree and caused slight damage, there could be an attempt to salvage it. There is a greater hope for straightening up healthy trees, with care and rehabilitation, as in more tree pruning and also treatment.
Consider the Type of Tree
The ability of trees in any Clade to recover from the destructive effect of windstorms varies. Certain tree species, such as willows, birches, or populus, are more likely to suffer from windstorm damage than others because their timber is quite frail. Trees that are availed for commercial uses can also be dangerous when damaged in such a manner.
On the other hand, trees like oak and maple which are called softwood trees are capable of withstanding and healing from some sort of damage to certain degrees. That is, if the tree belongs to a learned survivalist species, rather than impulsively issuing a green light for the tree’s operations, it is advisable to contact a tree surgeon if there exists a chance of extending the tree’s life.
Assess the Medical Condition of the Tree
Minimal damage may seem the case however, it may be necessary to assess the tree scrupulously for any structural impairment physical or internal. The trees that possess fissured trunks or branches may give a false sense of stability, but these trees are in potential failure mode in the course of time. A tree considered compromised may fail and fall in the next storm or even on a clear calm day.
Also, the structural damage to the root system may pose a problem. Once storm winds cut or bring down trees exposing their roots, the trees can be left standing but have a high risk of toppling over. Any stability of any tree in its place that has root injury is a potential fall hazard, an accident waiting to occur.
Determining if a tree that has been damaged by a storm should be cut off can be a tough call but it’s very possible to make the right decision, especially in those situations where there are tips for deciding when to remove a storm-damaged tree such as considering the degree of the damage along with the area in which the tree is located and lastly the health of the tree within the social and physical environment.
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