Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Scott Hokunson
A huge snowstorm blew throught the northeast on October 29th, so early in the season that many of our trees were still leafed out. All that extra surface area meant the trees collected way more snow than normal, resulting in massive damage. Even a week and a half later, thousands of people are still without power. For the most part, people are dealing with it quite well, even with the lack of heat and hot water. Brr! But there are an awful lot of unhappy gardeners here who have lost multiple beloved trees. Their losses might be best illustrated by these photos sent in by Scott Hokunson, a landscape designer (and good friend of mine) in Granby, Connecticut. Scott says, “Our community is heartbroken over the damage done to the Granby Oak, as it has stood as a symbol for the town of Granby for centuries. You can find out much more info on the link below, as well as pictures of it in better times.”
http://www.salmonbrookhistorical.org/granby.htm
Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Scott Hokunson
So sad! I didn’t realize at first how big that tree is until I noticed the people in the photos. Wow! Scott has more photos of the storm and the resulting damage on his Flickr page. Check it out.
Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Scott Hokunson
Also, if you live in the northeast and lost trees, commiserate in the comments below. I’ll start–I have a decades-old, gorgeous Japanese maple in my back yard that lost probably 40% of its branches. Luckily, we trimmed off the damage, and it’s not completely ruined. A massive old maple behind our barn lost major limbs. I’m scared to go back there and see what it looks like now…Luckily, the huge red maple in front of our house didn’t crush our house!
Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Scott Hokunson
Fine Gardening Recommended Products
DeWalt Variable-Speed Cordless Reciprocating Saw
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Pruning Simplified: A Step-by-Step Guide to 50 Popular Trees and Shrubs
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Comments
My SIL in Springfield Mass got power back after a week. I don't know how many trees they lost, but they live on a wooded lot with no lawn.
Thank you for sharing this article, the pictures were lovely and the story that went with it, made the article so worth while,keep up the good work, we can never imagine the amount of good that big old oak has done to clean our air over the years.
Northwest Connecticut got hit very hard. Our trio of almost 20 year old white birch were bent to the ground by the weight of the snow, and haven't yet come upright...a beautiful European Hornbeam (fastigiata) also had its limbs pulled downward and broken which ruins it's clean tall narrow appearance. An old mulberry tree split to the ground...Very sad, but even more so all of the people who still don't have electricity!
That is just too sad! Heartbreaking. So many of us here in the Northeast are dealing with this kind of damage to our mature trees and I think oaks were hit particlarly hard. Our hundred foot tall and at least as old oak that is a focal tree for the back gardens lost most of the limbs off the top...
I've got an oak that's in bad shape, too. I think oaks got hit hard partly because they don't drop their leaves until very late.
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
Sign up Log in