SAN ANTONIO – This week, South Central Texas felt a rollercoaster of temperatures, so a tree care professional says it’s important to check on your trees now before another freeze.
Chris McCombs, who owns All Arbor Tree Care, said trees in San Antonio can only handle so much winter weather.
“Trees are pretty resilient, but anytime ice or snow comes, it’s not something we’re used to here,” he said.
After a weekend with below-freezing temperatures, and KSAT 12 meteorologists forecasting another cold snap later this week, McCombs is warning people across the city to take an extra close look at their trees to avoid breaking limbs.
“There’s a lot of things you can do to prevent it,” McCombs said.
McCombs recommended checking for cracks in the trunk or branches. He also said to watch for bark starting to peel and dead wood. If your trees show any of these signs, he said to call someone to come and take a look.
Before freezing temperatures return, McCombs said people should take the time over the next couple of days to water their trees at the roots. He said this helps to insulate.
“The moisture in the ground helps to radiate heat,” McCombs said.
One of the biggest concerns when it comes to breaking trees is how they could hit power lines.
“Generally, when we’re gonna lose power, it is a down tree due to neglect,” McCombs said.
That’s why Joanna Merrill, the director of HR and Communications for Fair Oaks Ranch, said the city pushed to be more proactive this year with the help of CPS Energy.
“We started all of (the preparations) really early on,” Merrill said. CPS Energy “began a tree trimming program around their utility lines around their transformer boxes and things like that in order to mitigate some of those trees freezing and hanging down and causing some of the issues they experienced last year.”
CPS Energy confirmed the tree-trimming efforts are part of its overarching winter preparation. A spokesperson for the utility service said it will continue this work through the rest of the year to “support the resiliency of our services in Fair Oaks Ranch.”
For other tips to protect your plants during cold weather, click here.
