Storm-Season Tree Preparation for Property and Facilities Managers

Every winter the same pattern: a named storm crosses Dorset, and for 72 hours every tree surgeon's phone rings with emergencies that were visible in September. For anyone managing property portfolios, parks or campuses, storm damage is mostly a planning failure, and the fix is a checklist, not luck.

The pre-season checklist (do it September-October)

• Walk the exposure lines: trees within falling distance of buildings, car parks, access roads and power lines get looked at first.
• Deal with the known defects: deadwood over targets, cracked unions, heavy overextended limbs, and any ash in serious decline (see our ash dieback guide).
• Reduce sail where it matters: a professional crown thin or reduction on exposed, high-target trees materially lowers wind loading. This is skilled work to BS 3998, not "topping".
• Clear the drains and check the ground: waterlogged root plates fail; standing water at the base of a big tree in December is a warning.
• Have the emergency chain ready: who calls whom at 2am, and which contractor answers? Agree response times before the season, not during the gale.

During and after a storm

Keep people away from hung-up limbs and partially failed trees, they're the most dangerous phase. Photograph everything before clearance for insurance. And once the season's damage is cleared, feed the lessons back into next year's checklist: the same trees fail in the same winds.

Heartwood runs pre-season programmes and 24/7 storm response (07920 146 322) for commercial clients across Dorset, priority response is written into our term contracts. Start with a free exposure walkover: 01929 480 995 or see emergency tree work.