When gardening in a hurricane-prone area, less may be more -- more likely to survive.
We're talking trees here. Without your even noticing, your trees have become more than they were last year. A warm winter and a decent amount of rain meant the landscape plants just kept growing. Some trees now are quite thick, casting dense shade.
Should these be thinned?
Thinning the outer canopy will allow light and air to circulate into the tree. The University of Florida's pruning guru, Ed Gilman, says the interior structure of the canopy should remain intact after proper thinning.
Allowing air and light to penetrate the crown allows the main branches to increase in size near the trunk and prevents the death of smaller, interior branches, Gilman says. Thinning the outer twigs keeps the canopy from being a sail in the wind.
A new rule of thumb: don't remove more than 15 percent to 20 percent of the canopy of a mature tree. That's down from the older recommendation of 25 percent to 30 percent.
While you're pondering the canopy, look for broken or diseased limbs as well as ramrod straight-up water sprouts. These can be removed. Also, take time to consider the trunk. Look for signs of decay, such as weeping sap or shelf mushrooms, which may indicate disease. An arborist can evaluate the situation.
OLDER TREES
Experts suggest knowing the life span of your trees because specimens nearing the normal end of their lives may be more vulnerable to wind damage. Old trees may be hollow or full of decay, so check them carefully.
What you don't want to do now is overprune your palms because it weakens them.
Canary Island date palms are often shorn of so many fronds they look like pineapples with a few feathers stuck on top. This is severe overpruning.
Palm crowns often have fronds that droop to the horizon or below. You can safely remove those that hang below the horizontal ones, but not above. Older fronds really shouldn't be removed until the stems have turned brown. There are exceptions, of course, such as when they block the walkway or drive. But old fronds contain potassium that can be redirected into developing fronds if left on the plant.
What you want to do is remove coconuts from those palms well before any approaching storm, as these can become lethal.
Make yourself a note: pick up supplies to have on hand should a storm knock things around. Banrot, Aliette and Subdue are valuable fungicides. Kocide mixed with Manzate or Dithane M45 (1 tablespoon each per gallon of water) can be used as a drench for palm crowns.
Have stakes and rope on hand should trees be toppled. A chain saw is valuable for tree limbs that have to be cut and dragged to the trash pile (don't forget the oil and gasoline.)
Orchid growers -- and there are plenty of us -- should also prepare for hurricanes because orchid collections can be quite valuable.
If you have too many orchids growing in baskets and pots to bring inside, water them well before a storm and put them on the ground. I put orchid pots under the benches on the floor of the orchid houses. Those with sentimental value (read, award-winning) come inside.
EXTRA SHADE CLOTH
Remove shade cloth from the shade structure. It can turn into a sail and may also take the house with it. Have the fungicides mentioned above, and extra shade cloth for covering your plants after a storm.
If you are close enough to the coast that a storm surge inundates your yard with saltwater, hope for an intact water supply that will let you quickly hose off valuable non-salt tolerant plants. Even the salt-tolerant ones are unlikely to be that salt tolerant.
If your area is flood-prone, Subdue used as a drench will help against root fungal diseases.
In hurricanes past, I have found the hard way that thick clumps of bougainvilleas growing on a chain-link fence can take down the fence. We are near the end of the bougainvillea flowering season, so if yours are growing on a fence as mine are, cut them back hard once the flowers thin out and keep the shrubs under control.
This year, yards are looking quite lovely after two years of no storms. To keep them as durable as possible, make sure the plants are healthy (not yellow from lack of nutrients) and the trees storm-ready.
Georgia Tasker is The Herald's garden writer.
