There was a question on YouTube about whether you should shake the tree limbs to get the heavy early season wet snow off of tree branches, like the kind of snow we had in Colorado this morning. We answered the question with a definite “yes” with a few more instructions as you’ll see in the comments area.
With more Colorado snow on the way tonight, we’d like to take this topic a little deeper in that there are actually 3 ways you can protect your trees from the winter snow loads, rather than react only after snow has occurred:
1. Have your trees inspected and trimmed by an ISA certified arborist– Maintaining the health of your trees also includes preventative care.
Preparing for heavy wet snow loads, high gusty winds and other forces of nature is important to the health of the tree, to prevent against breakage, torn bark and cracked leaders. Depending on the degree of damage, a tree may lose itʼs life to a badly cracked leader.
With storms arriving in late October in the Boulder area, proper pruning will help your trees withstand the heaviest of snows.
2. Proper watering and fertilization – After the arborist trims the tree and removes dead, dying, diseased, or weak branches, make sure your tree is properly watered and fertilized before the winter season hits. Stressed trees have more storm damage from snow load and do not endure the often dry weather between the snows.
3. Cabling and bracing – If your tree has weak structure identified by a certified arborist, they can install a bracing system to prevent failure of critical branch unions. If you feel your tree’s structure is weak please call us for a free estimate.
Trees, by nature, are designed to withstand normal changes in climate and weather types such as snow, sleet and even small hail. You can contribute to the long life of your trees by following these three steps to help them through the winter months.
