By Linda Langelo
CSU Horticulture Specialist
On July 2 CSU State Forester Carrie Tomlinson brought a group of student interns studying arboriculture and/or forestry or environmental science to Yuma. They came to help survey and inventory the trees damaged from the May 20 hailstorm.
Many deciduous trees have epicormic sprouts that have regrown since the storm. These now need to be pruned and thinned out by an experienced arborist. If these are not judiciously pruned, a high wind could break a lot of the epicormic sprouts out of the tree. Wind needs to pass through the tree. The trees have thick growth from the epicormic sprouts, several weaker sprouts will break and allow the wind to pass through.
The shape of the tree will never be the same as before. But they are making their food from the epicormic sprouts. It will take years to repair the damage. The trees did not come to maturity in an instant. Trees are resilient and made to last.
The evergreen trees will not be as resilient. We saw evergreen trees damaged up and down one side. Most of these will not come back. The windbreaks that sustained 50 to 80 percent of the damage will not grow back.
Though I know this is not the answer most people wish to hear, I have some good news. First, Yuma is applying for the IRA Tree Grant, a Federal Grant that Carrie Tomlinson introduced to me on May 1, 2024. I introduced it to all my counties and towns. It is a four-year grant. As the towns or counties remove, prune, or replace trees, their budget is reimbursed. That is how this grant works. If you know about a tree in an alley that is a liability or in your front yard that is a danger to you or the neighborhood, please let the town know. This grant will make a difference over four years. A great deal of patience is required after such destruction.
I know that a four-year grant cannot cover all the damage. However, I have gone to the Colorado Tree Coalition, which grants emergency funds for tree replacement. I am working with them to get money for residents to purchase a tree as a replacement. I plan on asking other funders to match whatever funds they will award us.
The Colorado Tree Coalition assisted Akron and Haxtun after the derecho on my behalf. People got new trees to plant, and the town increased their tree diversity which is very important to the health of the environment and the town.
Making Yuma a “Green Corridor” a location filled with lots of tree vegetation will cool the environment by adding shade and mitigate the extremes. We need trees to make it rain. They are part of the hydrology cycle.
Linda Langelo is a Colorado State University Extension horticulture specialist, member of Garden Communicators International, and regular contributor to MarthaStewart.com gardening articles. She also produces The Relentless Gardener Podcast. She is a guest blogger for AARP Colorado and AARP Maryland.