With Ike bearing down on the Houston area I am wondering if there is anything you can do to protect citrus planted this spring from hurricane winds? Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Matt

A mature tree is hard to protect. If you have any ripe fruit on them then pick them now. It'll save you the trouble of rummaging around on the ground looking for the fruit afterwards.

For young trees I'd drive stakes and tie the trees with something that won't rip the bark off as they whip around. When Frances and Jeanne crossed me in '04 it blew my then thriving pomegranate nearly out of the ground. I did stake it when I saw it was in trouble, but by then the damage had been done. It lingered two more years, but never thrived after that.

I wouldn't cover them with anything. That will increase their wind resistance so that if you get really big wind you might just find a hole after the storm passes.

.....Alan.

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. The trees are already staked but with over 30 citrus planted in ground it is looking like damage is going to be hard to prevent. Wish me luck.

Matt

Matt
Skeeter suggested using a rope to pull the branches together and that would definitely help stabilize the branches from whipping around.
My young lemon tree was nearly uprooted and flopped around in all directions. As soon as the winds died down I pulled it upright and put dirt around the roots. It’s amazing how much damage citrus can receive and still recover.
It’s really bad news with Ike taking a turn for Houston. We heard that they were evacuating some of the city.
Take care and good luck!
Karl

Matt,
Karpes is right about the rope around the tree helping to stop the whipping--the other thing it does is reduce the wind profile which if you get really strong winds should help prevent it from blowing over. If you are in the area that will get hurricane winds, I would also stake it or tie it to a big tree.

Thank you guys. I tried the best I could to get the trees prepared. The storm will be here in 3 hours, so i will soon see how they will hold up. Once again I appreciate all the comments.

Matt

I hope you and your family are all safe and did not get too much damage. You are probably without power, but I hope you get it back soon-- I have a brother that is over in LA helping restore power--he may be headed your way next.

My family and I are doing fine. The electricity is out but we are currently running on a generator so we are pretty comfortable. Our house is fine but a lot of large trees are down. Here is pic of a tree on my next door neighbor's house. He is also doing well.


Here are two other trees a few feet away.






Once again, thanks to everyone for their kind words.

Matt

Matt
Good to know that you are ok. Please let us know how your citrus did.
Pine trees are the first to go and that is why I will not plant another pine tree on my property. All but two have survived and typically they snap 12’ to 15’ above ground and love to come through your roof.
Karl

Glad to hear you are OK and did not have any trees on your house. Generators are great--we have one now--I got it after Ivan, but I borrowed my sisters to get me through most of Ivan. Getting gas to feed it becomes the next problem. Good luck.

Glad to hear y'all made out OK, Matt! Do please let us know how your citrus came through. Good luck to you and your neighbors getting back to normal now that the storm has passed.

.....Alan.

Surprisingly all the citrus made it out of the storm just fine. No fruit was lost on any of the trees that are currently fruiting. Some leaves were lost, but I can live with that. Here are some pictures.

Meyer Lemon


Marrs Orange


Rio Red Grapefruit



The Avocado, Mango and Starfruit even held up well












Once again, thanks for all the help.

Matt

Great to see everything is doing fine Matt. What type of Mango are you growing there? Must be a cold hardy variety. I may have to try one out ....

Thanks Laaz, the Mango is a Nam Doc Mai. I have it planted on the SW side of the barn so we will see how is does this winter. It seems to be doing well though.

Matt

Thanks Matt. I'm going to order one.