WHY DO TREE LIMBS BREAK DURING AN UNTIMELY SNOWSTORM AND WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT IT?

WHEN A SNOW STORM HITS AND THE TREES ARE NOT READY

 We had a lot of rain early fall, followed by unseasonably warm temperatures and the plants perform according to what mother nature deals them. So they absorbed the water and it's organic nutrients and continued to grow and flourish which is why the retained their green leaves so late in the season.  Many of the trees that broke were still in summer color and had not yet begun the process to dormancy. The fall colors occur as the plant draws back nutrients from its leaves to store as food for the the long winter.  So between the excessive water uptake and still being leafed out, these evergreen and deciduous trees had a greater surface for which the snow and ice to adhere.  This added weight and as a result broke the limbs.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT 

When it's safe to access the breakage prune back the remaining branch stub, in some cases to the trunks surface.  If you haven't already I might also suggest a deep root feeding of the specimen.   To prevent further damage brace or cable the tree and prune back some of the other branches to reduce the wind load. 

They're prepared, but are we?

If you've observed the chipmunks and squirrels this season then you realized how busy they were collecting food, or best said, destroying your garden.  Thats because they knew we were in for a harsh winter...again.

I will follow up with more informative posts so as not to let this happen to you