Hurricane season officially starts June 1, which means it is time for every Floridian to begin the annual tradition of saying, “I should probably get ready,” while also hoping that somehow counts as getting ready.
It does not.
When most people think about hurricane prep, they think about water, batteries, flashlights, generators, plywood, propane, and finding the one weather app that makes them feel the least panicked. All of that matters, and we will talk more about general hurricane prep soon. But this week, I want to start outside, because your landscape is not just scenery during a storm. It can either help protect your property, or it can become a very expensive collection of flying objects.
Your yard does not need to be perfect before hurricane season. This is Southwest Florida. Between heat, humidity, weeds, bugs, and the occasional mystery plant that appears out of nowhere, perfection is not really on the menu. But your landscape should be cleaned up, trimmed properly, and prepared in a way that gives it the best chance of handling wind, rain, and whatever else the tropics decide to throw at us this year.
The first place to start is with trees. UF/IFAS has done extensive research on trees and wind resistance in Florida landscapes, and one of the biggest takeaways is that storm preparation is not about panic-pruning three days before landfall. It is about choosing the right trees, planting them in the right place, and maintaining them correctly over time. Some trees are naturally more wind resistant than others, including live oak, sabal palm, gumbo limbo, crape myrtle, and sea grape. That does not mean those trees are indestructible. It just means they have a better track record when properly planted and maintained. Unfortunately, no tree comes with a “Category 4 certified” sticker, which would be convenient, but also probably terrifying.
If you have trees on your property, now is the time to walk around and actually look at them. Not the casual “yep, still a tree” kind of look. Look for dead limbs, cracked branches, branches rubbing against each other, limbs hanging over the roof, weak branch connections, or trees that are leaning in a way that makes you say, “Has that always been doing that?” If the answer is followed by nervous silence, that is your sign to call a professional.
Proper pruning is a major part of hurricane preparation, but the word “proper” is doing a lot of work here. A well-pruned tree allows wind to move through the canopy more evenly, reduces weak growth, and removes dead or damaged material before the storm does it for you. An improperly pruned tree, on the other hand, can be weaker, uglier, and more dangerous. That is not a great combination unless you are trying to create a haunted house with liability issues.
This is especially true with palms. Every year, people get tempted to give palms what is often called a “hurricane cut,” where most of the green fronds are removed and the palm is left looking like a sad feather duster. UF/IFAS does not recommend this. Green palm fronds are feeding the palm. Removing too many of them can weaken the palm and make it less healthy going into the season. A good rule is to remove dead or clearly dying fronds, especially those hanging below horizontal, but do not strip the palm just because someone with a chainsaw got enthusiastic.
The same goes for shrubs and ornamentals. This is a good time to reduce overgrown, leggy, or weak growth, but it is not the time to scalp everything into little green meatballs and hope for the best. Use clean, sharp pruners when possible. Remove broken, dead, or crossing branches. Thin plants thoughtfully instead of shearing everything flat across the front like you are giving your hedge a military haircut. Plants need structure, airflow, and enough leaves to stay healthy.
One of the biggest mistakes people make before hurricane season is waiting until a storm is already in the forecast. By then, everyone is trying to do the same thing at the same time. Tree companies are booked, debris pickup is overwhelmed, and the pile of branches by the road becomes one more thing the wind can relocate for you. Hurricane prep is much better when it happens during calm weather, not when you are sweating in the driveway while the local news shows a spaghetti model that looks like it was drawn by a toddler with a red marker.
Clean up loose items in the landscape before the season gets active. Empty pots, lightweight patio decor, hanging baskets, garden art, bird feeders, shepherd hooks, small fountains, plant stands, and decorative items should all have a plan. If it can move in a strong thunderstorm, it can really move in a tropical storm. We love a good wind chime as much as anyone, but nobody wants one entering the neighbor’s lanai at 45 miles per hour.
Container plants are another easy thing to overlook. Big ceramic pots can tip, crack, or roll. Lightweight plastic pots can blow around the yard like tumbleweeds with roots. Group them in a protected area before a storm, or move smaller containers into a garage, porch, or other secure location. If you have newly planted trees or shrubs, check the staking and support. Stakes should support a young tree without strangling it or preventing natural movement. A tree needs some flexibility to develop strength. Basically, it needs support, not a full-body cast.
Mulch is also worth checking before the season. Mulch is great for conserving moisture, moderating soil temperature, and reducing weeds, but more is not always better. UF/IFAS generally recommends keeping mulch around two to three inches deep and pulling it away from trunks and stems. Mulch piled against a trunk can trap moisture and contribute to rot, disease, and pest issues. We call that “volcano mulching,” and while volcanoes are exciting in nature documentaries, they are not what we are going for around your crape myrtle.
Drainage matters, too. Before the heavy summer rains settle in, walk your property after a normal rain and notice where water collects. Are gutters dumping water straight into landscape beds? Are downspouts washing mulch into the driveway? Are low areas staying soggy long after the rain stops? Healthy plants can usually handle rain. What they do not love is sitting in a swamp with no oxygen around their roots. If your landscape has drainage problems, hurricane season has a way of turning those problems into a group project involving you, your shovel, and possibly some unique word choices.
This is also a good time to think about plant health. Strong, healthy plants usually handle stress better than weak, neglected ones. That does not mean you should throw fertilizer at everything like you are seasoning a steak. It means following local fertilizer rules, using the right product at the right time, and paying attention to signs of nutrient deficiencies, pests, or disease before storm season ramps up. A stressed plant going into hurricane season is like a person starting a marathon after eating gas station sushi. It is technically possible, but the odds are not great.
If you are adding new plants, think long term. Florida-Friendly Landscaping principles and FNGLA best practices both point toward choosing the right plant for the right place. That means considering mature size, root space, distance from the house, distance from power lines, soil conditions, salt tolerance near the coast, and wind exposure. A cute little tree in a three-gallon pot can become a big problem later if it is planted too close to the house, driveway, sidewalk, roof, or anything you would prefer not to have lifted, cracked, shaded out, or smashed.
For trees especially, structure matters when you buy them. Look for a strong central trunk, good branch spacing, and roots that are not circling aggressively in the pot. A bargain tree with bad structure is not a bargain if it becomes a future insurance claim with leaves.
Of course, not every job is a do-it-yourself job. If you have large trees, limbs near the roof, anything near power lines, or trees that already look questionable, call a certified arborist or qualified tree professional. There is a big difference between pruning a hibiscus and climbing into a live oak with a chainsaw. One is yard maintenance. The other is how people end up as a cautionary tale.
At MRT, we can help with the parts of hurricane landscape prep that make sense for homeowners to handle themselves. We have pruners, loppers, saws, gloves, tarps, contractor bags, rakes, tie-downs, yard cleanup supplies, mulch, soil, drainage supplies, plant material, and plenty of people who are happy to talk through what you are working on. Bring us photos of your plants, your trees, your beds, or that one side yard that has become “nature’s area” because nobody wants to deal with it. We know that area. Every Florida yard has one.
The goal is not to make your landscape hurricane-proof. There is no such thing, and anyone who promises that is probably lying. The goal is to reduce risk, improve plant health, remove obvious hazards, and give your yard the best possible chance before the season gets busy.
So, now that June 1 is a few days away and the tropics become everyone’s least favorite group chat, take a walk around your yard. Look up at the trees. Look down at the mulch. Check the drainage. Clean up the loose stuff. Trim what needs trimming. Leave the palms with their dignity. And if you are not sure what to do, come see us.
Because during hurricane season in Florida, “we’ll get to it later” has a bad habit of becoming “well, there it goes.”