How to Protect Trees from Storm Damage: Selection and Care

Big storms bring wet snow, heavy rain, and gale-force winds—trees suffer. Mature trees are vulnerable, and losing an old tree is profound, expensive, and radically alters the landscape.

Trees are the costliest landscape element. Designers must select species appropriate for the setting, disease-resistant, and strong. Avoid weak-wooded trees like silver maple (Acer saccharinum) in residential settings.

Know Your Trees

Beautiful paper birch (Betula papyrifera) has ash-white bark but is short-lived, weak-wooded, borer-prone, and breaks in high winds—avoid near power lines or structures. Stressed mature birches lose large limbs in early heavy snow with leaves still present.

Other storm-vulnerable soft-wooded trees: Bradford Pear (Pyrus calleryana) and willow (Salix spp.). Plan for longevity and beauty. For large properties: red oak (Quercus coccinea, zones 4-9). For suburban specimens: Japanese maple (Acer japonica).

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Potential Hazards

New construction tears up landscapes—blasting, heavy equipment, compacted soil. If keeping existing trees near the home, their root systems may weaken. Pamper them: water, prune broken limbs, light compost dressing. Watch for stress after severe weather. Shallow-rooted trees can be tossed in wind microbursts, damaging homes.

Plan for the Inevitable

Old specimen trees eventually succumb. If a landmark tree is declining, consider preemptive removal before the next big storm. Hire a professional arborist for evaluation. If the tree is far from structures, storm loss may be acceptable. If canopy overhangs a portico or roof, maintenance pruning or reassessment is needed for safety.

Consider leaving the trunk standing for wildlife in naturalistic settings.

Paintbox Garden

Few trees match flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) in spring. Our old Arlington specimen survived hurricanes, nor'easters, and snowstorms. When wet April snow hit during bloom, I knocked snow off branches with a spade back to prevent splitting.

Spring-flowering trees with large blooms (dogwood, magnolia) suffer in wet snow near freezing—blooms become too heavy. Be ready to shake branches to avoid permanent damage.

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Accept Imperfection

Tree-lined drives are divine in fall color. Storm loss of one tree in an orderly composition is devastating. Replace with a large-caliper tree via tree spade—costly but restores the look without decades of waiting. Or accept the gap, or plant a budget-friendly replacement.

Remember: larger trees at planting are more likely to fail. Ensure contractor replacement guarantee.

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Plan for the Future

When a tree is lost to windstorm or damage, redesign: plant something new, simplify to lawn or meadow. Loss of shade may require moving plants. Sadness mixes with joy of a new tree.

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Stewardship Is Crucial

Stately trees like Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca') at the National Cathedral lend grandeur. Michael Dirr calls mature Atlas cedar "beauty perhaps unmatched by any other conifer." Two specimens at Bishop's Garden entrance, purportedly 1920s saplings from the Holy Land.

Assess such trees regularly with a trained arborist. Protect root zones from compaction—too valuable to risk.