Include
landscapes in storm recovery
By
Norman Winter
MSU
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension
Center
|
Andrea
Brown, a 14-year-old Oktibbeha County 4-H
member, rakes limbs and debris in the yard
of a senior adult friend in the Bell
Schoolhouse Community. Many Mississippians
are depending on the help of friends and
family to assist in cleaning up in the
wake of Hurricane Katrina.
|
|
Knowing
you live in an area at risk for hurricane damage is one
thing, but watching a Catagory 4 or 5 hurricane barrel down
on your home is a helpless feeling. When the time for
recovery arrives, cleaning up landscapes can seem
overwhelming, especially if a lot of trees are down. What
took a few hours to bring down, may take weeks to clean
up.
First
and foremost, take care of any damaged trees that could fall
or break. Hire trained professionals to deal with these
damaged trees to avoid, or at least minimize, further
damage.
You
may be wondering about the possibilities of standing trees
back up. To be perfectly honest, only smaller trees and
shrubs are good candidates. These will need to be anchored
by two or three guide wires. To prevent injury, flag these
wires so they are easily visible.
During
the time I was executive director of the National Pecan
Marketing Council, I saw pecan growers in Alabama try
valiantly to stand up small trees that had just begun to
bear pecans, but to no avail.
If
you believe a tree can be reset, but you are unable to do it
quickly, keep the exposed roots covered and moist until
repositioning. After standing a tree back into position, you
will notice that there are now large pockets to fill in. Use
soil and water to eliminate the air pockets, and be sure you
do not leave excess soil that can also cause
damage.
If
you have to remove a lot of trees, you will quickly notice a
change in the landscape from the standpoint of sun and
shade. After a tornado a couple of years ago that took out
47 trees at my home, my shade garden with hostas and ferns
was suddenly getting full sun. Azaleas that had been getting
afternoon shade were now being cooked.
My
damage took place in late April, which meant I had to make
some fairly quick changes as summer approached. Because
we're entering our cool season, you may be able to
procrastinate a bit. Perennials can be moved early next
spring with the emergence of growth.
Because
I had so many trees down in a half-acre of garden area, I
bought orange flags and marked everything I could so the
arborists would know where the plants were -- even if they
did look pulverized or nonexistent.
This
paid dividends, but remember everything can't be protected.
The log trucks that had to be brought in did considerable
damage to both my flowerbeds and the lawn area, so be
prepared.
After
the trees are removed, go through the landscape and remove
broken limbs from shrubs and cut back herbaceous plants as
needed.
Perhaps
your situation isn't so dire -- I hope not. As quickly as
possible, remove leaves, limbs and mud from the lawn. These
could suffocate the grass.
If
you live in a coastal area where a saltwater surge covered
your lawn, irrigate with fresh, sodium-free
water.
The
damaged landscape will not need any fertilizer until the
plants overcome their shock and get reestablished.
Fertilizer also could stimulate unwanted growth with the
onset of winter approaching.
If
you recently received damage, one of the most important
tasks is to take photos of all areas of damage. You may want
to begin cleanup efforts before your insurance provider has
time to survey the damage. Be sure to keep repair and
replacement receipts for claims -- and a few witnesses
wouldn't hurt.
Your
landscape will be beautiful once again -- just take it one
area at a time.
-30-
Released:
September 1, 2005
Contact: Norman
Winter,
(601) 857-2284
Editor's
Note: Ideal publication dates of Southern Gardening columns
are within one month of their release. Editors should
examine older columns carefully for any information that
could be time sensitive.
Publications
may download
photograph
at 200 d.p.i.
|