Windstorms

My mountain ash blew down in the latest windstorm. No loss. It was born ugly, attracted trouble, and blew over without protest.

It has been a troublesome fall for trees in Southern Ontario. Richard Ubbens, City Forester for the City of Toronto, rhymes off the dates, "October 31 and November 13th, our crews were out in the wind, the rain and the dark to clean up."

On those dates the winds were fierce, but sustained wind is not the problem according to Ubbens. "It's the sudden gusts, we had them up to 110K, and then the immediate removal of pressure as the wind dies down, that's the problem."

In cities our poor trees are also subjected to another type of assault Ubbens calls "twist".

"In the built form of the city," Ubbens says, "the wind passes by buildings and around corners and seems to form mini tornadoes." In these twisting winds, observers have told Ubbens that one tree will shake and lose branches, while another right next to it stands still.

In windstorms, poorly maintained trees are vulnerable to damage, but Ubbens urges us to consider the underground life of the tree as much as the above ground profile.

Trees are weakened by careless use of backhoes for instance, according to Ubbens, "When excavation takes place, it's like using dull tools to rip and tear tree roots. It causes wound damage that can lead to root decay."

When trees rock and groan during a windstorm, one imagines a deep, sturdy taproot anchoring the tree against the assault. Fat chance. Most urban trees, planted in compacted soil, show no evidence of a taproot.

The latest studies prove that most trees develop their roots in a lateral pattern. In Florida and New Jersey the U.S. Food and Agriculture department did a lot of snooping and digging around tree roots and found on average tree roots spread three times the spread of the branches. A tree with an eight-foot branch spread for instance, would send roots out 24 feet, and incredibly most of the fine feeder roots are in the top two inches of soil.

So one must be aware that the sacred ground around trees is much wider than previously thought.

The root of the trouble also goes back to how trees are planted. Often improperly according to Ubbens. "They are planted too deep, and then you invite root rot and deprive the tree of oxygen."

The City of Toronto has a good explanation and detailed drawing of the correct way to plant trees. Improper planting can also produce roots that girdle or strangle the tree and deprive it of food and water.

It's serious business, the planting and protection of trees. After mopping up after the latest storm, Ubbens welcomes the chance to talk about his favorite trees.

"If I could advise anything it would be to start planting native trees of Canada, in the right place," he says. "Oaks, hickories, beeches, I love them."

So goodbye to my morose mountain ash, it's just making room for a better tree. Maybe a chinquapin oak, with its sweet acorns sought after by quail, turkey, and deer, or a shimmering eastern redbud tree that produces flowers loved by honeybees.