
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 11, 1994                   TAG: 9403140163
SECTION: LAWN & GARDEN                    PAGE: 2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PREVENTION BEST WAY TO MAKE SURE TREES AREN'T HURT BY ICE

During this season's ice storms, the phrase "this is just nature's way of pruning the trees" became as ubiquitous as summer's "it's not the heat, but the humidity."

It's true that nature has done its own tree trimming for eons, but Lee Hipp, director of Virginia Western Community College's horticulture program, said that pruning is best done by humans. If a tree is kept in good shape throughout its lifetime, he said, damage from ice storms can be kept to a minimum.

In fact, he said, while six large old trees on campus were uprooted during one storm, there was very little damage within the school's arboretum. The plants there are young and resilient, he acknowledged, but they also have been well-maintained.

But not all pruning is good, he said. Trees that have been "hatracked," a technique that involves cutting off the major limbs and allowing weak shoots to grow from the trunk, are made even more vulnerable to ice damage, he said.

"Most damage is done by the weight of the ice," rather than by the cold, Hipp said. Some trees, such as birches, are more prone to damage. They have many small branches, and the wood tends to be brittle, compared with that of some other plants, he said.

Whether a tree with broken branches can be saved depends on how extensive the damage is, Hipp said. In most cases, it's best to prune the broken limb off as close to branch as possible. An open wound on a plant, just as in humans, can often invite disease.

Ice storms are not all bad, however. During times of extreme cold, Hipp said, a coating of ice will protect plants from the effects of low temperatures. And melting snow and ice provide prolonged deep watering that allows moisture and nutrients to reach the plant's roots slowly and more efficiently. This also ensures that there will be good water levels in the spring.

by CNB