The monsoon season of Arizona is a dangerous time of year with frequent storms affecting people all across the state. One of the dangers most people don’t realize when first learning about the season is how it can affect the trees. However, long-standing tenants of the state will tell you it’s important to know how to prepare your home’s trees for the oncoming storms. Read on to learn how yourself.
Know the Dangers of a Monsoon
The first thing you should know is how dangerous a storm can be and how it can affect your trees. This way, you’ll better understand what’s at stake and what you need to look out for during the season. This next section will try to help cover all the major dangers of a monsoon and how they affect trees.
Rain and Wind
The big thing you need to worry about is all the rain and wind that comes with these monsoons. The high winds will put a lot of pressure on your trees, and the rain will loosen the dirt and soil holding them in place. The water can also drown your yard, causing lasting damage if the water sits there for too long.
Falling Trees
The big worry that comes from all the wind and rain is the possibility of falling trees and debris. Because of the loose ground and high winds, trees can fall over, damaging anything they land on and potentially causing injury. You want to do everything possible to stop your trees from falling and learn how to address the issue if they do fall.
The best thing you can do is stop your trees from falling in a monsoon in the first place, which takes good preparation. The next section will help you prepare your trees for the monsoon season. You should try using all this advice to keep your trees standing throughout the season.
How To Prepare Before Monsoon Season
A lot of what you need to do happens before monsoon season begins, as it’s far too late to make many changes just before a storm or during the season. However, you should try to practice these methods even during the season to make sure your trees are prepared as possible.
Keep Your Trees Healthy
The first thing you should try to do is keep your trees as healthy as possible. The best defenses trees have against a storm are healthy roots and strong trunks, which come with a healthy plant. Ensure adequate watering and fertilization year round to keep your trees as healthy as possible. You may want to hire an arborist to provide expert, specialized care.
Drain Your Yard
Most trees sitting in water will slowly rot and die, which is why drainage is so important for the health of your plants. Do what you can to prevent any water buildup in your yard by creating natural channels for the water.
Space Your Trees
It’s a good idea to plan for the spacing of your trees when you plant them, considering how much room they’ll eventually take up. Additionally, good planning can prevent home damage if a tree does fall during a storm, as you can plant it far away from your house.
Ensure Annual Pruning
The wind and rain in a storm are the most dangerous parts of a monsoon for the tree, as they impact all the branches and leaves. Pruning your trees annually will help keep the leaves and branches under control, promoting healthy growth and lowering the impact of wind and rain.
Stake Your Trees
One thing you can do to try to help support your trees is to stake them in the ground. You can safely stake them with wood to help ground them and keep them in place if a storm hits. However, you should be careful not to hurt the tree when doing this, as that can cause all sorts of difficulties down the line.
Understand the Dangers of Too Much Maintenance
While trees need a lot of maintenance to stay healthy and ready for a monsoon, you can go overboard. For example, too much water can hurt the roots, and over-pruning can make your tree vulnerable to sun scalding. Hiring an arborist to guide you through the proper care for your trees is best.
Know What To Do After a Storm
When it starts raining, there’s little you can or should do to protect your trees, as it’s dangerous to go out during a storm. It’s far better to rely on what you did before monsoon season to get your trees ready. This next section will reflect what you should do for your trees once a storm is over if any tree does fall.
Be Safe
If a tree falls, the most important thing you should do is keep you and those around you safe. Never go near a fallen tree yourself, as it can still hurt you with sharp branches. Plus, parts can continue to shift even if the tree seems fully still and uprooted.
Assess the Damage
The next step is to assess the damage from the fallen tree, such as any damage the tree caused to buildings or nearby cables. Yet do this from a safe distance, especially if you suspect any electrical damage in the area.
Call Emergency Tree Services
The next step is to call an emergency tree removal service that can come in to clear up the fallen tree. It’s not only dangerous to remove a tree; it’s also difficult without the proper equipment. Fortunately, there are many businesses capable of safely removing the tree from your property, so you can move on to repairs.
Take Pictures of the Damage
As the company comes over to clean up your home, try to take pictures of the damage to the ground and building from the fallen tree. These pictures are going to help you later with insurance claims if you have an applicable plan. This is also going to be very important for future repairs and replanting trees.
Now you know what you need to do for your trees before, during, and after a storm in Arizona during the monsoon season. While you hope it never happens, understanding how to deal with a big monsoon is a part of living in Arizona. These storms can cause some serious damage, but following these steps can help minimize it and deal with any of the aftereffects of a storm.
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