South Florida Trees and Hurricanes

[gatorcane]

I'm sure many have noticed that the trees that remaining standing here in South Florida after Wilma are mostly the native ones. Non-native trees like oak trees and maple trees did not have a chance.

You will be hard-pressed to find any damaged Palms. The Cuban royal palm and coconut palms are barely damaged. There are those palms with the tiny trunks that stand tall that are not damaged at all. It's ironic. Also the various ficus trees had some of their canopies destroyed but very few were uprooted due to their massive, almost hurricane-resistant trunks.

Perhaps we should reconsider planting any non-native trees down here that are in potential at-risk areas (around powerlines, houses, etc) and stick to the Royals, coconuts, ficuses, and Australian pines (tropical), or any "hurricane-resistant" trees.

What do you guys think?

[JonathanBelles]

the palm trees are bad. mine though a coconut through my neighbors pool cover. the tales i could tell about that tree

[gatorcane]

good point about the coconut palms - you must be right on the water in St. Pete because it's too cold for coconut and royal palms that far north otherwise.

[MiamiensisWx]

Actually, boca_chris, Australian Pines are one of the top worst trees to plant. Many fell down in Wilma, knocking down others nearby. Also, they are ivasive environmental pests in central and southern Florida.

[gatorcane]

hmmm I didn't know that about the Australian pines....

[beachbum_al]

When I was down in Naples this past January I noticed that. Of course my husband pointed it out to me. Now on a sadder and serious note...I remember driving around the area with my husband and he pointed out the bunyon trees and the large craters that they left in people's yard.

[Epsilon_Fan]

True on the palms... its funny how such a frail-looking tree can be so strong... but I guess that structure is very wind resistant. We have palmettos in SC and those can take a beating!

[yzerfan]

After Ivan, we had a dozen shortleaf (non-native) pines whacked in our yard. Save for a magnolia and a couple of scrub oaks that aren't in position to hit anyone else's home, what's left in our yard are live oaks, which are very storm-resistant as long as they're healthy and some longleaf pines, which are much more tolerant of wind than the shortleaf pines.

[docjoe]

Unfortunately between Ivan and Dennis I lost over 40 trees on 1.6 acres. My live oaks stood although they look ratty. Virtually all of my other oaks either fell or broke off. I lost about 20 Atlantic White Cedars. Also my favorite tree, an old longleaf pine about 90 feet tall that somehow escaped the axe in the past. It snapped about 5 feet off the ground. The crown is laying in the creek that borders my yard now and catches all the other storm debris that washes down. On a good note I am rapidly becoming a Micelangelo with a chainsaw!!!

docjoe

[SootyTern]

There's a lot of good reasons to plant native; for one they need less care during dry spells once they're established.

[benny]

The palms mostly made out ok around here although some fronds were sent flying thru the air! Any oak trees were toast though...

[Scorpion]

Most native palms can withstand Cat 5 winds and not fall.

[gatorcane]

Most native palms can withstand Cat 5 winds and not fall.

It makes sense since huge tall, old Royal palms are everywhere here in South Florida. Even in homestead where Andrew went through, there are plenty of old Royal palms still standing.

[Bocadude85]

Almost every ficus tree I saw was either uprooted or had virtually no brances left on it

[TheShrimper]

You obviously do not know too much about Australian Pines. They are very shallow rooted and are the first to go even in tropical storm force winds. If they are on canal banks or close to the water, forget about it, they are history. Long Key State Park has lost obout every one, over the past two years. They are actually a weed if you do some reading about the species. Yes, because of thier hieght they will bend, but once that is exceeded, they snap or topple over. If you come here to Cape Coral, I will personally show you how 90 footers withstood Charley and Wilma.

[TheShrimper]

The most durable palm vs. hurricane force winds has been proven to be our state tree, the Sabal Palm or cabbage palm. I saw many that took Charley's full force and shed only the fronds that were ready to fall off previous. The canopies were not even phased in the least. A close second and third are Phoenix Robellini, better known as the pygmy date palm...and Cocothrinax Morrissi, which is the Keys thatch palm. Both are very slender and thier canopies are small. Alot of the Royals you see now along Krome Ave in Homestead were replanted after Andrew. Hardly any toppled, but they lost there canopies killing the tree. The avacodo's and mango's were all toast. The ones that were replanted after Andrew, were again devistated from Wilma, Katrina, Rita and the 2004 storms. Not a pretty sight down there now.

[T'Bonz]

I lost two of my three palm trees during the last three hurricanes.

[ericinmia]

Live oak are actually very good trees for hurricanes...

Mohagony are brittle and snap apart in pieces...
Palms (may stand) but die from their hearts being knocked off....
Black Olive are weak and come right up....
FICUS... WOW that is the WORST tree... hundreds upon hundreds came down in wilma... lol I have pictures if you don't believe. They have HUGE canopies and very shallow roots, which grow outward... pulling houses/streets/etc up when they go.
Australian pines are horrible... they topple like a drunkard. shallow roots...

etc. etc.

Grass survived pretty good though...
-Eric

[richtrav]

Royal palms have evolved in the Caribbean and are one of the best palms for hurricane force winds. Their leaves are designed to come off in high winds to lower the drag on the plant. Unless something gets into the crown it should push out a new set of leaves later.

The native stands of live oak off the South Texas coast went through Bret very well, but it's a small oak which has adapted to hurricanes. Basically they defoliated in Bret and had little structural damage, leafing back out a few weeks later from all the rain.

Generally if you live near the coast it's a good idea to plant things that come from other areas prone to high winds (kinda makes sense). I don't know where the comment about Ficus came from, most were beat back to within an inch of their life in Homestead in '93. The pines were also snapped. Palms are generally resilient but some are not. Drive down to Fairchild and see which ones are fine and which ones still have the boards supporting them.

I think nurserymen have reported a high interest in palms lately, if that tells you anything. That in spite of all the northeasterners who are moving down and demading more traditional temperate shade landscapes (what's the point of living in Flahrida?)

[wxmann_91]

Palms are very sturdy, there's a reason why they are found in the tropics and subtropics rather than the poles, and it's not just the temperatures...