According to The Weather Channel, 2016’s hurricane season has been the most active of the last four years. A forecast published by The Weather Company predicted 14 named storms for the year, of which eight hurricanes and three major hurricanes were listed. Being proactive with the care of your commercial lawn can help ensure that your business won’t suffer due to poor practices. This can prevent a costly restorative investment in the future.
Although we’re more than halfway through the hurricane season, we should still expect to see extreme weather conditions develop well into November. You can take action against future storms by following these steps to prevent major damage from happening to your business’s lawn.
Have TLC Total Lawn Care handle your commercial lawn care maintenance before the next storm hits.
Prevent Objects from Damaging Property
You may have placed furniture or decorations on or around your commercial lawn’s area to liven up your business, giving it a welcoming look. While this may create a unique experience for patrons, a storm’s heavy rainfall and strong winds can cause these items to damage property.
For example, furniture like tables or chairs can be moved around by heavy winds, causing nearby windows to break and neighboring buildings or vehicles to get damaged. Tables can be turned upside down to prevent winds from moving them around easily, and chairs can either be brought indoors or tied to strong pillars, gates or trees. Decorations like welcome signs, wind chimes, bird feeders and birdbaths should be taken inside.
Trees or plants used for decorations can also be a hazard. To prevent this, large potted palms or trees can be turned on their sides with their tops facing away from winds. Pots can be protected with any cushioning material of your choice. Bricks or wooden blocks can be used to keep them in place. Small potted plants and hanging plants should be brought inside. Additionally, tarps should not be placed on potted plants as these can catch wind, causing them to shift around.
Observe the Growth and Health of Your Trees
Before a storm hits, it is important to keep an eye on your lawn’s trees. Although you are not a professional arborist, keep in mind that there are three things to keep a lookout for that’ll show your trees need some professional attention.
- Codominant trunks: Your trees may have codominant stems, which means they may have two or more central trunks. As there isn’t one strong central trunk, two or more trunks may not be firmly formed. This causes the tree to be at a higher risk of splitting. If a tree is mature and codominant, for your protection, our professional landscapers should be hired to correct the problem.
- Thick canopies: If your tree has a thick canopy (the cover formed by the leafy upper branches), it should be trimmed to allow air to pass through it in order to prevent branches from breaking or the tree from uprooting.
- Roots: If your tree’s roots are weak, there may be a chance of it falling over during strong winds. Sometimes it may be difficult to distinguish if a tree has weak roots, but we can take care of this for you.
A few maintenance tasks that you’ll be able to take care of yourself can include sawing off weak or dead limbs or large, unsupported branches. If there are young trees on your lawn, you can use stakes and wires to keep them secure. The last thing you want is for loose limbs or braches to damage buildings, vehicles or even power lines. However, when cutting branches or trees, make sure that you have access to a proper disposal service, or the loose vegetation can also cause damage if it gets lifted and relocated by strong winds.
Let TLC Total Lawn Care Inspect Your Lawn
Making last-minute preparations for a storm, like storing away small plants and decorations, may be easy, but some tasks like cutting off weakened branches or trimming tree canopies may be more challenging. The commercial lawn care specialists at TLC Total Lawn Care can help you prepare for any upcoming extreme weather conditions. Contact our commercial landscapers in McAllen today for a free quote!
