Time To Enter Repair Phase Of Ice Storm

It all began late Tuesday morning, Nov. 19. I was sitting by the living room window enjoying a morning cup of coffee and a beautiful snowy day. Something unnatural caught my eye. Our young 8-foot dogwood was arched to the ground. Why? It’s small, but it’s strong enough to hold snow. I scurried out to investigate the situation.

The dogwood was coated with ice from the tips of its branches to the base of its trunk. My technical training told me to leave it alone. Disturbing it could cause more harm than good. Yet, my instincts told me differently. If I didn’t dislodge the ice, the weight could snap the young tree in half or damage its internal fibers. I went to work, GENTLY removing the icy grip. Slowly the little fellow began to right itself.

I quickly scanned the rest of the yard for “icy” plants, but didn’t see anything that jumped out at me. Cold and wet, I hurried back indoors.

Indoors didn’t turn out to be a good place to get warm. Within a few minutes - at 11:52 to be exact - we lost power. This really didn’t concern me, since it isn’t uncommon to have short-term power outages. This time, though, the power didn’t come back on. After about an hour I found out from the power company that we were experiencing an ice storm and that there were hundreds of reported power outages.

It was then that I took a closer look at the plants and trees in our yard. It was not snow on the trees and shrubs, but rather a thick layer of ice. A sense of urgency set in. I had to remove as much of the ice as possible, especially from the more delicate and the young plants.

Armed with a broom, husband Jim and I set out to free the trees of their icy grip. As we moved from one tree to the next, gently brushing and shaking their limbs, we heard a snap and crack in the distance. Our neighbor’s huge, graceful willow was falling apart. We worked faster. Again, a crack and a snap. Another neighbor’s aspen and birch were being topped out, one after another. “Jim, the dogwood,” I yelled. The 15-foot dogwood was open and bent to the ground like a cheap water fountain. As we removed the ice, it began to spring back into place.

Several 15-foot arborvitae were all split down the center, branches going every which way - a picture out of a Dr. Seuss book. We quickly found that removing the ice from anything tall can be a dangerous experience. As we shook the branches, huge chunks of ice came crashing down onto our heads.

Darkness finally took over, forcing us to come inside - cold and drenched. The tall trees were on their own. There was no way to reach their limbs, and it would have been too dangerous anyway.

While the house was dark and already cooling down, the outside captured a mixed, eerie beauty. Though it was dark, the reflection of light from the snow allowed us to see for miles. In its stillness, you could hear what seemed constant snapping and cracking of stressed trees nearby and in the distance. That night we built a fire, lighted a few candles and bundled up to keep warm.

The next day, still without power and now without water, we headed out (as so many of you did) to purchase provisions. As we drove through town, the shock of the devastation was overwhelming. The face of our region is certainly going to take on a new appearance. As I watched the cleanup taking place, I couldn’t help but ask myself: “Where do we go from here?”

Damaged trees will have to be assessed and evaluated.

The tree may still be alive, but has it lost its inherent beauty? Through reshaping, can it retain any beauty or functional purpose? If not, perhaps it should be removed.

Is the tree a hazard? In order to answer this we need to answer the following questions: (1) Can the tree recover from the loss of its large branches? (2) Are there deep, open cracks in the trunk and branches? (3) Are there broken branches, injured roots or are branches close to power lines? (4) If the tree or its branches were to fall, what would be the target - cars, houses, power lines or people?

Hazardous trees are unpredictable. The tree itself or its branches can fall at any time. Branches may have to be removed or braced and cabled or the tree itself may have to be cut down. Do not climb into the tree to remove large limbs yourself. The limb supporting your weight may not be sound, either. If you are not qualified to evaluate your tree, please contact a certified arborist. (If you don’t already use an arborist, they can be found in the Yellow Pages under Arborist, but be sure he or she is certified.)

Tree wounds: Depending on the size of the limb that fell, the wound may be large or small. But in all cases, the wounds are jagged and in many cases deep. The actual cleaning up of these wounds can be left until late winter or early spring. The main thing is to make a clean cut at the collar of the branch. Do not cut into the trunk of the tree. The large gaping wounds on the trunk should be analyzed by an arborist. Many of these wounds will have to be “surgically” repaired, if repair is possible at all.

Do not paint the wounds with tree paints or tar. The paints do nothing for the wounds and in some cases can cause more problems. < Bolting, cabling and bracing: If limbs are broken, but not completely severed from the tree, many can be saved by actually bolting them back together. If the branches are small enough, such as small fruit trees, rhododendrons, lace leaf maples, arborvitae, etc., you can easily attack the project yourself.

Branch bolting is accomplished in the same manner as bolting any two objects together, except you’ll need a large washer at both ends. Be sure the two pieces of plant you are bolting mesh together exactly or the procedure probably will not work.

If the branches are large, they may need cabling as well as bolting. Again, a job for an arborist.

Uprooted trees and shrubs: Many of these plants can be saved. If the ground is soft or workable enough, dig a larger hole and right the plant. Guy wires may be necessary for some time to hold the tree in place. A little selective pruning or thinning any time before the plant comes out of dormancy in the spring will decrease the work load on the roots until they become fully established again. If you can’t dig in the soil now, cover the exposed roots with any loose soil - potting soil, peat moss, dirt, etc.

This whole procedure can actually work. I saw a full-grown maple, uprooted during the firestorm of 1991, being stood up and replanted. It was held in place with guy wires for a couple of years. Today, it’s a beautiful, healthy maple tree.

Arching trees and shrubs: Many trees or limbs have not broken, but are arching or drooping drastically. What do we do with them? Hopefully, many of these plants will begin to right themselves after the weight of the snow and ice is gone. Some may not be able to do this, due to internal damage not visible to the eye. If they seem to be righting themselves but are struggling, we can help them along by staking. Tip pruning to relieve some of the weight should also help.

Broken roses: If you didn’t prune your roses back this fall, and now you have a few broken canes, this shouldn’t be a problem. In late spring you will be cutting the canes back to 6 inches anyway.

As of this writing it has been a week and we, like many of you, are still without power. It is hard to believe that just two short weeks ago, I was collecting little pieces of beauty from the garden to fashion a few holiday decorations. Today I am surveying the crippled remains of my ice-bound yard. Once again, Mother Nature has demonstrated her incredible power. This devastating phenomenon took lives and plunged more than 100,000 of us into cold and darkness. It has left tree canopies shattered and branches blanketing the ground. By the time you read this, I pray you are all safe and warm in your homes.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Phyllis Stephens The Spokesman-Review