Hurricane preparation may include removing a tree that is leaning or too close to a structure. [Photo by Katrina Elsken/Lake Okeechobee News]

Preparing for hurricane season includes landscaping.

Tree limbs that were killed by the freeze can easily break off in high winds. Cleaning out the deadwood before hurricane season can help prevent that dead wood from being turned into missiles if a big storm hits.

If you want a tree removed from your yard, there will never be a less expensive time to do it, explained Jim McCoin of McCoin Tree & Lawn. The longer you wait, the more the tree will grow, which means the job is just going to get bigger and more expensive.

McCoin said homeowners should carefully evaluate trees or large limbs near buildings. In the devastating 2004 Hurricane Season – which brought Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne -- much of the damage to South Florida homes was from tree limbs or whole trees falling on structures.

The unusual (for Florida) cold spell in late January left a lot of vegetation dead or damaged. A tree that lost its leaves after the January freeze but now has green leaves growing back could still have damage inside the tree, McCoin explained. This could make it more likely to break when hit by hurricane-force winds.

Planting too many trees close together can also be a problem. Trees might grow at an angle, seeking more sunlight. McCoin said when you start seeing the roots close to or just above the soil surface, this can indicate the tree is unstable and trying to brace itself.

The University of Florida publication “Wind and Trees: Lessons Learned from Hurricanes,” was written by Mary L. Duryea, Eliana Kampf, Allyson Salisbury, Rich Hauer, Ryan Klein, Michael Andreu, Andrew Koeser and Alyssa Vinson.   They reviewed research conducted after 10 hurricanes by scientists at the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Some of the key lessons learned included:

• The higher the wind speed of the hurricane, the more likely trees will fail.
• Trees survive winds better in groups than trees growing individually. However, it is also important to allow individual trees adequate space to develop a strong supporting root system.
• Some species resist wind better than others. The UF/IFAS researchers found native trees such as live oak, sabal palm and gumbo limbo are better at surviving storms. Exotic species are more likely to have damage.
• Pine trees may appear to have survived storms, but have hidden damage. Monitor pines carefully.
• The greater the wind speed, the more leaves trees lose during hurricanes. Leaf loss does not mean the tree is dead.
• Well-pruned trees survive hurricanes better than poorly pruned or unpruned trees.
• To reduce your risk, maintain diversity in your yard and community by planting a mixture of species, ages and layers of trees and shrubs.
• Give trees enough rooting space based on their mature size: small trees need at least 10 feet by 10 feet, medium trees 20 feet by 20 feet, and large trees 30 feet by 30 feet.
• To allow healthy root system development, make sure that planting sites have 3 feet of soil depth with a deep water table. Keep soil compaction to a minimum.