When it comes to Hurricanes, there’s an old sailor’s saying, “June—too soon, July, standby, August, a must, September, remember, October, all over, but November, still remember” The hurricane season is upon us in Hawaii and it’s time to take precautions in the garden. Now that we are traveling the jungles of Sarawak Borneo we are actually in an equatorial zone that is considered free of tropical cyclones, typhoons or hurricanes. The forests are very ancient with trees reaching gigantic proportions of 150 feet and more. The understory is rich with palms, ferns and a vast number of species some of which have not even been named. The biggest threat to these forest ecosystems is expanding timber cutting and agriculture for oil palm plantations.
Meanwhile back home in Hawaii summer storms are like unwanted company — they often come when they are least expected. One year we have none, the next we have several. With El Nino at work, it is important to be prepared.
So, before the storm flag is hoisted, inspect your trees for dead branches that seem to be ready to fall. Also, look for dead branches that are firm but brittle. A gust of hurricane-force wind can snap an arm-size branch from a tree and send it at missile speed through a window.
A low hanging branch over a roof can wreak havoc. Powerful winds can turn the limb into a tool of destruction, removing shingles.
Removing dead and out of place limbs is a good idea even if there is no storm.
Fan-like fungus growing on the side of a tree trunk indicates rotten spots. A hole made by poor pruning, damage from earlier storms, or the gouge of an auto bumper can start rotten spots.
The auto-made wound can easily be filled with a water-tight material as it is not more than kneeling height. But other rotting areas will require experience at climbing to dizzy heights on a trembling ladder. Often it is cheaper in the long run to call a professional to handle the tree top jobs.
Some older trees with Y-shaped crotches are prone to cleave apart. Check the trees in this category. If necessary, place temporary props in the appropriate places, or make the tree one unit again with steel rods and turnbuckles.
Remove decayed trees too weak to hold up under the strain of a storm.
Palm fronds are wicked to deal with if propelled by 80 mph winds. So, clean away all loose palm leaves at the first hint of a storm. Be careful not to over prune the palms. Over pruning will weaken and even kill them. Examples of poor palm pruning can be seen on the makai Kohala side of the Palani Road and Queen Kaahumanu Highway in Kailua-Kona.
Actually, even 100 mph winds are not as dangerous as it sounds, if necessary measures are taken before the wind reaches gale force.
If your home is located in an area that might be flooded, you’ll be given ample notice to evacuate hours before the storm reaches your area. Otherwise, there is no safer place than in a well built home.
As soon as the storm has passed, it is a good idea to inspect the trees and other plants around the house. Usually all the plants will show signs of wind damage. But with a little trimming, propping, resettling of root systems, and fertilizing and watering, nearly all plants that were shaken loose from the ground can be salvaged.
Many of our tropical trees grow rampantly with extensive root systems. That is why we prune to keep them from getting out of hand, but let’s prune the right way. Spring and summer are not the best times for excessive pruning.
After hurricane season, you might want to consider some root pruning.
Here’s a scheme to keep lawns and flower beds healthy, too. The trouble with roots of many big trees, banyans (Ficus species) and monkeypods especially, is they are too greedy. Their roots will fill a flower bed or a new lawn in just a few years. When this happens, you can be sure they aren’t doing the smaller plants any good; likely, the roots are competing for soil’s available water and nutrients, causing grass, shrubs and flower roots to suffer.
With lawns, this action often demonstrates itself right before your eyes. If big trees grow at one side of a large lawn, you will notice that whenever the lawn goes without water for any period of time, the grass nearest the trees is always the first to show the bluish cast and lifelessness that indicate wilt. Ultimately, the grass will fade out under the tree until none is left.
The countermeasure is to cut tree roots that grow into the bed or lawn and then make it impossible for new roots to grow back into the area. You have to assume the tree roots grow out in more or less straight lines that radiate out from the trunk.
The first step is to dig into the soil alongside the lawn or flower bed where the trees grow. After a short time, you can begin to see how many roots grow through the area.
If you find many little roots (from thread size to the diameter of your thumb), you can make a trench between the lawn or bed and the tree with a rented power trencher.
On the other hand, if you find a number of roots the thickness of your arm or bigger, the trencher machine probably won’t work. Unless the roots are exceptionally soft, the machine will bind on the thick wood and fail to do a satisfactory job. If that’s the case, you have a harder task on your hands.
Dig the trench by hand about 2 feet deep, then sever sections of the roots within the trench. Use an ax or saw or both. Whether you are able to make the trench with the machine or are forced to dig and cut by hand depends on how much time the trees have had to send roots into the area and how long it’s been since you’ve thoroughly cultivated the soil.
Annual cultivation will keep topsoil free of tree roots that compete for nutrients.
If roots are buckling a garden walk or patio, dig the trench on the tree side of the paving.
After the trench is made, you can eliminate or reduce regrowth by creating a barrier with asphalt roofing paper, roofing tin or concrete.