NFT: Storm damaged tree’s question

where about a dozen pine trees that were planted two years before were uprooted by ice and snow. We were able to right them and stake them and they all survived. It's certainly worth a shot, unless there is damage to the trunk.

I would cut them down. Pine trees have no root structure and the needles are nasty. All pine trees should die.

Most reputable tree service companies have at least one on staff. They'll come out and give you a free assessment which includes a price quote to either save your trees or cut them down.

...to try to compare trees planted two years before with 30' tall established trees. Just how would you go about straightening and supporting such mature trees? SMH.

He obviously would need help righting the trees and staking them. And some of the trees I had were over 10 feet tall. They weren't tiny saplings. If they were, I wouldn't have bothered.

before working a bit on my own. I didn't learn from books or courses, just in the field, from the ground up, as it were, from groundman to climber.

BMac has a valid point (although a bit harsh in its expression) and buford also has a point (although her 2nd post a bit oversimplified)--now that I've trashed some of the good contributors, here, lol, let it fly.

I'm going to assume these are white pines as they tend to be the most vulnerable to weight of snow on branches and therefore catching gusty winds like the sails on a ketch.

And the answers are, it depends. Were the trees' root systems shallow because of rocky shelf or boulders that took these trees 30' of growing to set their roots, and was it that habitat that caused them to come down? Or were they planted in good conditions?

Chip is right when he says pines are not deep rooted. We've had a lot of storms this winter, with some good winds, and with white pines you never know what will bring them down.

It doesn't sound like there was above-grade structural damage, just partial uprooting. If you are going to try to re-set them upright and stake them, as buford says, it's important to do it SOONER rather than later. The longer the part of the root system is above ground and exposed to air and water and freezing (icing the roots is not good), the more damage done and the longer it would take for that part of the system to supply nutrients to the tree as close to normal as possible.

So, if you are going to do this, as also suggested, get a tree service over for a first hand look (imo it's probably worth the shot to right and re-stake) and DO IT during the warm spell coming up mid-week. And if you do that, make sure the service stakes them very securely, as you don't want the trees wobbling because i) the roots won't set properly and they'll die and ii) as another poster said, you don't want the weakened tree to fall on or over something nearby.

If you do make the attempt, you'll know by fall whether the damaged part of the system is repairing itself or whether that side of the tree is beginning to brown/yellow out.

In comment 12158275 ColHowPepper said:

Quote:

before working a bit on my own. I didn't learn from books or courses, just in the field, from the ground up, as it were, from groundman to climber. BMac has a valid point (although a bit harsh in its expression) and buford also has a point (although her 2nd post a bit oversimplified)--now that I've trashed some of the good contributors, here, lol, let it fly. I'm going to assume these are white pines as they tend to be the most vulnerable to weight of snow on branches and therefore catching gusty winds like the sails on a ketch. And the answers are, it depends. Were the trees' root systems shallow because of rocky shelf or boulders that took these trees 30' of growing to set their roots, and was it that habitat that caused them to come down? Or were they planted in good conditions? Chip is right when he says pines are not deep rooted. We've had a lot of storms this winter, with some good winds, and with white pines you never know what will bring them down. It doesn't sound like there was above-grade structural damage, just partial uprooting. If you are going to try to re-set them upright and stake them, as buford says, it's important to do it SOONER rather than later. The longer the part of the root system is above ground and exposed to air and water and freezing (icing the roots is not good), the more damage done and the longer it would take for that part of the system to supply nutrients to the tree as close to normal as possible. So, if you are going to do this, as also suggested, get a tree service over for a first hand look (imo it's probably worth the shot to right and re-stake) and DO IT during the warm spell coming up mid-week. And if you do that, make sure the service stakes them very securely, as you don't want the trees wobbling because i) the roots won't set properly and they'll die and ii) as another poster said, you don't want the weakened tree to fall on or over something nearby. If you do make the attempt, you'll know by fall whether the damaged part of the system is repairing itself or whether that side of the tree is beginning to brown/yellow out.

You're generally correct. If it's spruce or hemlock, they send down a tap root that helps a great deal in keeping them upright.

Yes, my response was, not harsh, but unbelieving that someone is trying to equate 30' trees with 10' or less trees. That's simply not paying any attention to what was asked and just blabbing forth a nonsensical answer seemingly just to have something to say. It's an all-too-prevalent effort from that particular poster, hence the SMH.

is in NC, I'm going to assume (!) he has clay soil. When it gets wet as it would be during these recent storms, and the trees are weighed down with snow/ice, the root base just pops right out of the ground. Obviously if he wants to save them he will have to right them and stake them. Like I said, it's worth a shot.

By any chance are they Lelyand Cypress? Those are fairly common privacy trees. With all the construction we had going on here last year, my neighbor had two of his taken out (they were in the path of a new drainage pipe). They were on the other side of my fence. So now we have a big open area. I don't really mind, it's just weird seeing all that open space. He's not going to replant them, they get too big. In fact, I am going to have to trim back the branches that are coming over on my side of the fence and laying all over my magnolias.

regardless of whether they reroot or not. If they die, you can cut them down when you are ready to plant new ones.

Good luck. (IMO, height is not as important as girth in deciding if a 30 foot tree is large.)