Clean Up begins...

This Cornus florida survived the storm!!

So for those of you throughout Chester County who are reading this--congratulations on getting your power back! Not only did the recent ice storm cause us to lose electric, but it also wrecked havoc on our trees and shrubs.  Hopefully if you have trees on your property that lost their limbs or were uprooted over the last 24 hours they did not cause damage to your home, vehicles, or fence.  You may still be left with a mess of broken branches and wondering whether or not your tree will survive the damage. 

It is important to remember that the least amount of additional pruning you can do, the better chance you will have of your tree surviving the damage.  This may not be possible, if you have hanging limbs or branches that are partially broken off.

Your tree has the best chance of survival if:

* at least 50% of the crown of the tree is still intact.
* if the central leader (main branch structure) did not break off, and it is a species that depends on the central leader such as: Blackgum, Junipers, Lindens, Pines, Pin oak, Spruces, Sycamore, Sweetgum, & Tulip poplar
*the smaller limbs were the ones that were broken, and the tree does not have a lot of scars that need to heal.

If you have questions or concerns about pruning your tree to save it, or need help pruning the tree, TLC's Landscape Visionaries program has a list of recommended arborists to choose from.  Best of luck cleaning up after the storm! 

As you clean up your branches remember that brush piles make great habitat for our native fauna, and can provide a shelter for birds to wait out the rest of winter.