A hurricane is nature’s way of cleaning your trees and shrubs. The problem is she leaves a mess and wreaks havoc on your yard. Remember the months you spent in getting your lawn healthy, green, and lush, can be destroyed in just a few minutes of a terrifying storm. Fortunately, you can still restore the beauty of your yard. Here’s some tips and tools to help get your yard back in shape after a strong wind has come through.
Clear Out Damaged Shrubs and Fallen Trees. Hurricanes can uproot shrubs and trees or damage them immensely leaving all types of debris lying around. If you need to remove a huge tree from your yard, call some professional help, as it is a major task that can cause further damage if not done right. Clear up debris from your shrubs and, if damaged, you need to do some pruning. You may need to rethink the location of these shrubs and trees in the future so they won’t be significantly affected by the storm, or you may need to improve your wind barriers in shielding your trees and shrubs from damaging winds.
Clean up all those leaves. You may not have flooded basements or fallen trees, but you’re likely to have your yard covered with twigs and leaves. Rake them up to avoid further damage to your lawn.
Snip, Prune and take away the damage. After dealing with fallen trees, you also have to remove snapped or bent branches, broken and damaged leaves. Likewise, clear out any mud and debris buildup that clings to the trunk or bases of trees and plants. This will lessen the danger of secondary infections coming from dead plant materials and higher mud levels. When plant residue is leaning against other plants or just left along with other good plants, it can eventually decay and could cause your good plants to decay as well.
Go slow when pruning and cleaning a hurricane damaged garden. Start with the least pruning needed. After a week, your yard will let you recognize what needs to be retained and what needs to be removed. New sprouts and buds will develop.
Avoid standing water. In case there is water collection or major flooding within your yard because of an overflowed or dislodged drainage caused by the storm, allow the excess water to dry up or drain off before trying to fix the ground underneath. Check your drainage systems, gutters, curbs as well as storm drains. if there are leaves, water, mud, or some other lawn debris that are clogging those areas, clean them out.
Take photos of the damage for insurance purposes. If you have a home insurance that includes acts of God, be sure to call up your insurance company and claim whatever benefit is available for your damaged property.
Plan ahead for the next hurricane season. Prevention is better than a cure, so they say. This can also be applied in this type of situation. Most likely, there will be another hurricane to come, particularly if you are in a hurricane prone area, so you can have a head start in finding effective ways to lesson devastation of your property. You can have your trees trimmed or removed,
and plan your landscaping, taking into account the force of strong winds and high water.