Naples ​Certified Arborists Dr. Doug Caldwell (UF|IFAS Extension Collier County) and Ian Orlikoff ​of Signature Tree Care ​discuss how to minimize future storm damage.​

Hurricane Irma roared through Naples, Florida on September 10, 2017, with 141 MPH winds packed with a matrix of tornadic cells and wind shears.​

Due to high winds and poor planting and cultural practices, many trees were destroyed. But could the amount of tree carnage have been reduced? The video shows how to help storm-damaged trees recover. It also shows how to reduce the potential for storm damage by (1) training trees to grow without V-shaped crotches, (2) avoiding lions-tail pruning (“gutting” or removal of laterals along main branches and leaving tufts of foliage only at the very ends of the branches), and (3) selecting trees that will not out-grow the available rooting area.​