After the Storm: Caring For Your Injured Trees

While ripped tree limbs and piles of heavy branches made some streets look like Mother Nature’s war zone after , the beauty of nature is many trees can heal themselves.

Last week, Pleasantville Mayor Peter Scherer acknowleged the harsh affect of the storm on Wheeler Avenue's Callery Pear trees, which he said are especially "vulnerable to cracking, and several have fallen onto parked cars in the past year or two."

The village is looking to continue replace these "with younger, sturdier trees," he said, though according to one expert, many trees are self-healing.

“Most will recover and some trees will need to be removed,” said SavATree Certified arborist Brad Gurr.

Some of the trees near the Manville Road side of Wheeler Avenue had to be removed, according to Scherer.

Openings left by branches ripped off from the wind will often close over on their own, but residents with injured trees on their personal property should have them looked at by a professional.

Gurr said that if a tree is not pruned properly after injury it could be at greater risk for internal rot later on.

“Have someone look at any tree before you cut it down,” Gurr said, explaining trees may look damaged but can still be saved.

He also advises anyone tempted to cut limbs dangling from a tree to call in an expert if those limbs are higher than six-feet.

“You could kill yourself if you fall,” he said.

For more information on trees, visit SavATree here.