The Ice Storm and Trees

Just how much weight from ice can a pine tree withstand before it breaks? That is the question. Wait a minute, I'm getting a head of myself. Actually, the question of the morning from the Jimster is, "HOW DO I FIND OUT IF SCHOOL IS CANCELLED? THE TV DOES NOT WORK!" at 5:30 in the morning. We here in my part of Tennessee had a terrible ice storm last night. Prior to going to bed I was hopeful it would not be too bad, but the pelting of my windows with freezing rain all night left no doubt there was ice on the ground. So I simply told the Jimster to go back to bed, and I slept in too. The ice storm did not claim the power lines as casualties, but the cable line and evergreen trees such as pines and cedars did not fair as well. Without cable, I have no telephone and no Internet and no television. Sigh.

Enter my one pine tree in the front yard. It is a short pitch pine and a treasured tree in my landscape. It shelters me, the house, birds, provides many pine needles for mulch, and pine cones for crafts. It is a favored food source of the yellow bellied sapsucker (one of these days I'll catch him with my camera) and is a tree I would be terribly distressed to lose. So upon looking out my front windows I see my view has changed-dramatically. I actually kind of like the new view, but it is not normal for these limbs to be touching the ground. I mean gee, I spend hours limbing up my trees just so I can look out and not run into them-what will I do now? The above pictured limbs are normally 15-20 feet off from the ground. Just look at that one limb that is bent nearly at a 90 degree angle! I am amazed!

I am also very lucky, especially because as I was walking around the garden (in the freezing rain) I heard several very loud cracks. C--R--A--C--K! Not a welcomed sound for my neighbor two houses a way. They had several pine boughs break and fall onto their deck. Such a shame for the trees. The deck can be repaired, not so the trees. The pine tree grove belonging to my neighbor is pictured above. You can see the broken limbs on the ground if you look closely. See how much those trees are leaning? Bad situation for a homeowner.Update: As of 8 pm, one of these tall pines fell on my neighbor's cable line-see the telephone pole there? No telling what else will happen by morning.

Speaking of homeowners, the Eastern Red Cedar pictured above is my tree. It is one of two leaning cedars in my backyard. The other one is leaning over the pool. It could spell dire consequences should it fall. The last time we had a big ice storm was in December 2006 (the same ice storm where I snapped the pictures of the meadowlarks) and the same thing happened to the cedars then. They recovered nicely and I expect they will recover this time too-provided we don't get too cold tonight with the other winter storm coming in. I have my fingers and toes crossed.

What can you do when this situation happens? Well first of all, losing a few branches is not going to kill a healthy tree. Splitting down the middle might, but hopefully it has not come to this point in my garden, though many of my neighbors are facing this challenge. But it is okay, it is the way it is sometimes. No panicking allowed. If a branch breaks off the first thing a homeowner should do is get a professional opinion from an arborist as to what to do. (That is the book answer) In my case, I know what needs to be done. The tree should be laterally pruned back to the trunk so there is no unsightly stump left for insects and disease to enter. This is an easy fix. Pick up the leftover branches and burn them in the fire pit, that is the next step.

Now the shrubs, they are a different matter. I took the time prior to the ice storm to tie the dozen or so 6-8 foot tall arborvitaes together. The precaution worked wonders. Though the trees are leaning a bit at the top, all stems have stayed together. I am relieved.

I knew the above pictured Arizona Cypress would be a different matter altogether. This is not the first time it has been laid horizontally, and probably won't be the last time. This tree was planted as a 3 foot stick in 2003. It now towers to about 15 feet. It is a gorgeous, gorgeous color blue and the foliage is so textural that it is a big asset in the garden. Additionally, it has the classic pine scent when brushed up against by the gardener. I suppose I could've tied it to Mr. Fix-it's garage, but chose not to do so. I know from past experience it will bounce back. The trunk; which is a good 6 inches in caliper; is pretty pliable. Once the ice melts I will brace the tree back up and tie it off down low to keep it from swaying. Tying it off prior to the ice storm would not have prevented the total bending of the tree but will help the tree stabilize itself now. (I hope)

I just don't know how northerners deal with so much ice. I always worry so about my trees and shrubs, but have finally come to a point where I just deal with it. I tried in vain to shake off the ice this morning, but since the temperature hovered around freezing all day and the ground was very cold, the ice was not budging. Such is life. At least we are safe and have heat-and now cable too! Oops-spoke too soon-the power is coming on and and off and more freezing temperatures and danger is forecast-gotta go...hopefully by the time this posts tomorrow THE storm will be behind us.

in the garden....straightening and staking trees.

As an aside, I am now a member of a German Blog called Ruhezone. What does Ruhezone stand for? Relaxing Zone. I intend for any posts I do over there to be very relaxing-for me and the readers (at least that is the intent:)

I met Kathrin online just yesterday and we hit it off. This is the thing about most of the German folks I know, they are very trustworthy and in return trust you, as she did me in order to invite me to occasionally guest post on her group blog. Thanks Kathrin for your trust!