Snow and ice

Taking a minute to send all of you a quick reminder about snow and ice loading on your  trees and shrubs. Often, as we move into late winter the snow can be heavy and wet. Sometimes we even get freezing rain. A couple of important key points to remember. First , any plants that begin to accumulate heavy snow that can be reached with a broom or long tool should be knocked off , especially branches that are parallel to the ground.  To extend your reach you could buy a long pole saw or pole clip. We use wooden ones that come in 12,14,and 16’ lengths. Next, remember that ice is going to be very hard to get off  as ice binds right to the wood and you may just have to wait until it melts .  Then ,after the storm has passed and the snow is melted  it is a great idea to inspect for broken,hanging ,and cracked limbs in the upper canopy. Use binoculars if needed and do a complete 360 around the tree. Sometimes a  well placed pruning cut can allow bent limbs to spring back as well.

As a final thought multi stemmed evergreens like arborvitae can be tied “Pre-storm” with arbortie to help prevent damage. For any further advice or a good inspection or your trees contact an LTE with a certificate in hazard tree evaluation.