As any seasoned Floridian knows, the best time to prepare for hurricane season is during the few weeks leading up to it. This allows you to stock up on essentials without having to brave the wraparound lines, wiped out inventory, and intense wait times that crop up right when a storm sets its sights on our peninsula. Though most Florida homeowners know exactly which supplies to get leading up to a hurricane, another critical precaution isn’t usually as top-of-mind: property maintenance. One of the most important things you can do for your home is to have your trees pruned before hurricane season, not during. In this blog, we dive into why pruning is so crucial in the first place – and why when you do it matters.

Why Prune Your Trees?

Generally speaking, regularly pruning your trees is an excellent way to make sure they stay healthy and grow stronger. Research shows that professional pruning helps trees to maintain their stability and strength in good shape, meaning that they’ll remain stronger and sturdier longer than they otherwise would have. This is because pruning is similar to exercise: just as muscle tissues sustain small tears during weight training, only to become stronger once those tears are repaired, so do trees sustain small wounds during pruning, which ultimately improves the integrity of their branches.

Speaking of imperfections in your trees, pruning is an excellent way to clear away some clutter, offering a better view at your tree trunk and branches and allowing you to catch any potential signs of weakness or decay in your tree. This is particularly important leading up to hurricane season, since the last thing your yard needs is an unstable or dying tree when whose 80+ mph winds hit.

Why Prune Your Trees Before Hurricane Season?

Of course, the most obvious benefit of tree pruning in preparation for a hurricane is that it’ll remove any weak, unstable, or dead branches ahead of time, meaning that they won’t be left to get caught up in aggressive winds and cause damage to your (or your neighbors’) home.

It’s important to get this done prior to hurricane season starting in order to give removed branches, leaves, and other debris enough time to naturally clear away before the devastating winds hit. Your tree pruning professionals will help to remove as much cut-off debris as they can. However, it’s impossible to get everything – nature is the only one that can do that, and do it seamlessly. It’s important to give your trees a couple weeks’ worth of time to be rid of any free-flying debris before those high-speed winds hit.

Florida summers are beautiful – and they’re also the perfect time to make sure your home is prepared for whatever the hurricane season brings. That starts with being proactive enough to have your trees pruned before hurricane season even starts. If you’d like to learn more about tree maintenance, including whether your tree just needs pruning or total removal, check out our free infographic.