Hurricane Juan caused some long-term damage to Halifax trees
Wind storms can cause root damage and lead to cracking
Some of the mature trees in Halifax that look like a strong wind could blow them over might actually be suffering long-term effects of Hurricane Juan.
The Category 2 hurricane flattened thousands of trees in September 2003 with winds of more than 145 km/h.
But even the ones that survived could have hidden damage.
"We can see damage 15 years after a major wind storm," said Kevin Osmond, supervisor of urban forestry with the City of Halifax.
"That'll be root damage and twisting and turning inside the tree that may be causing cracking."
Halifax has a high percentage of Norway Maples which are susceptible to root issues and cracking. That's one of the reasons they are no longer on the city's replanting list.
A dead or dying tree may not get taken down right away, even if someone complains. Osmond says a crew will come by and check it out.
"We're trying to preserve our trees in HRM," he said. "We'll assess the tree and if it's just a couple of limbs that have to be removed we'll do that."
Halifax loses about 300 trees a year. But since 2012 it has replanted 4,000 street trees.
Most of the city's pruning operations take place in the fall and winter when the trees are dormant.
Although problems for mature trees can't be blamed on last year's bitter winter, snow removal and summer landscaping could kill younger trees.
"We had issues with young trees dying in the spring due to sidewalk plow damage, lots of snow and ice piled around everything and we're trying to clamp down on whippersnip damage," said Osmond.
