Here is how to prepare your trees to withstand monsoon season in Arizona
Aug 14, 2018, 4:11 AM | Updated: 11:32 am
People walk around a downed tree caused by monsoon winds, Tuesday, July 31, 2018, in Sun City, Ariz. Phoenix police say traffic signals weren't working at multiple major intersections at the start of the Tuesday morning commute following a Monday night storm with strong winds that caused power outages, downed trees and damaged roofs. (AP Photo/Matt York)
(AP Photo/Matt York)
PHOENIX — The 2018 monsoon season has caused severe damage to trees around the state of Arizona.
Whitfill Nursery has served the Valley for more than 60 years and is now featured on KTAR News 92.3 FM from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Sundays to give some insight.
Owner Brian Whitfill told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Monday that even when trees are staked, they still break.
“It’s like putting a cast on your arm, the tree doesn’t move back and forth,” he said.
“What happens is the root system gets big, the top gets big and the weak link is the middle.”
The trick to getting trees prepared for monsoon season starts in the coming months.
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Whitfill Nursery advises tree owners to trim the canopy of their trees usually in the month of May.
“Pruning on desert trees especially prior to monsoon season, cutting them back opening the canopies makes them that much more wind resistant,” Whitfill said.
Most trees here in Phoenix are fast growing and not normally that old, including Palo Verde and Mesquite trees. If they do get knocked over and uprooted, Whitfill recommends to just replace it rather than replant it.
However, he said some are worth replanting.
“If it’s something that’s special — or an old Ironwood tree — you may want to go straighten it up and correct it,” he added.
“There are plenty of good arborists in town that could tell tree owners whether to replant it or not.”
Whitfill Nursery says the No. 1 thing to make your trees withstand storms is to water it correctly.
They advise tree owners to not water on days that are expected to have heavy rain fall because the damp soil will loosen the roots, making it that much easier for your tree to be uprooted.
