What to do when snow and ice damage your trees

A Northeast Ohio winter can be hard on your trees, especially when heavy snow and ice accumulate on branches. Preemptive pruning can be helpful to avoid vulnerable branches breaking and damaging healthy parts of trees, but when conditions become extreme, damage may be inevitable.

In general, healthy trees can stand up to most of what winter can dish out. Heavy, wet snow and heavy ice glazing, however, are among the most likely weather issues to damage trees, especially those with specific growth patterns or different features. The following types of trees bear close watching when ice and heavy snow are forecast.

• Evergreens – Arborvitae, yews and junipers are among these trees, which hold their needles year-round and, therefore, have a lot more surface to catch ice and snow. Their soft branches will often bend if accumulation becomes heavy, but in extreme conditions they can break.

• Fast-growing trees with soft wood – Willow, birch, poplar and other trees in this category grow so quickly their wood tends to be soft compared to slower growing trees. The result can be serious damage during the worst winter storms.

• Trees with vertical, close-growing branches – Also called fastigiate trees, these trees grow tall and narrow, with multiple vertical branches that create many pockets to catch and hold snow. Juniper cultivars and European hornbeam and beech are among these trees that can split and break from the weight of heavy snow.

• Trees with two or more main trunks – Any tree with multiple trunks coming from one main trunk near the ground will be vulnerable to high wind and accumulating ice and snow compromising the points where the trunks meet..

At GP Tree, we recommend professional inspections for all trees on a regular basis, with care focused on those trees that appear stressed and effort made to reinforce trees that may be vulnerable. While pruning is never recommended in the fall, our team will carefully remove branches that are dead, dying or carrying disease, to protect the tree from further damage.

What you can do for your trees after a storm

Trees and branches that are coated with ice or snow or bending over from the weight are best left untouched. Healthy trees will typically recover as the natural process of melting occurs.

Likewise, for dormant trees that show some storm damage but are not threatening people or property, leaving them untouched until snow has melted and the temperatures warm somewhat is best. Call the professionals at GP Tree for careful pruning before spring budding.

Tree pruning in Akron, Ohio, and the surrounding area is good idea during the winter months for trees that are dormant and lose their leaves. Evergreens should never be pruned. If you have storm damaged trees that need to be addressed right away, contact a professional who can safely remove the damaged branches. The experts at GP Tree understand proper pruning and shaping techniques so that your trees will recover well from winter storms and grow strong and healthy in the spring.

Ice or snow tree emergencies

For storm damaged trees that are threatening your home or a neighbor’s property, contact GP Tree for 24-hour emergency tree service in Summit and Portage counties and the surrounding area. Our team is always available for expert tree trimming and pruning and crane and bucket work. Call today!