Texas Gardening: Raising a Hurricane-Downed Tree, Part III, 1 by LeslieT

LeslieT wrote:
Part III
This spring my regular tree man returned and evaluated our work. He replaced the tree chain with a bolt set into the tree and wire, pulling the tree slightly more to the vertical but not enough to damage its roots. We’ve kept it watered through our winter drought and it burst into bloom at its normal time. Here is a picture.

I write this to encourage others to try saving a valued, ornamental tree downed by a hurricane. If it’s not too large and if the entire root ball hasn’t been heaved out of the ground and exposed, it is possible to raise a tree back up and, perhaps, have it survive. Obviously, huge trees like live oaks, large magnolias, etc., would not be candidates. It takes time, effort and money to raise a tree. Eventually the cable won’t be as obvious, but it’ll always be there. With the posts painted to match my fence, they are no longer obvious. Several years ago a sudden downdraft in a storm tilted a very large Bradford Pear. It’s roots were barely lifted up, but its angle was at about 45 degrees. My regular tree man got here promptly, set a steel post in concrete and cabled the tree back upright using a block and tackle. He was astonished to see that Hurricane Ike hadn’t moved this tree at all - its cable only needed a little tightening which is something of a miracle on a tree so liable to wind damage. Its cable has become less obvious with time, but it’ll always be there.

We had other large shrubs (a Marie van Houtte rose and a large ‘Lochinch’ Buddleia), both of which were well over 10 feet in height and both of which were blown out of the ground. As soon as the winds had stopped, we replanted, staked and treated them. They are both doing fine. I had to “lay down” on the ground two very large roses on trellises (Marie van Houtte and Buff Beauty), as well as a Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens ‘Alabama Crimson’). These plants were also treated with a SuperThrive/Seaweed solution initially. They had to rest on the ground for three months until the fence could be rebuilt and painted. After pruning, they are back up on their fence, in bloom, and looking none the worse for wear and tear.