A Hurricane Season Prep Checklist for Your Plants

We do not have to imagine what a hurricane does to a landscape here. Ian came ashore near Englewood in 2022, and Milton made landfall near Siesta Key in 2024. Most of my clients between Sarasota and Port Charlotte have lived through both. The good news is that a little preparation before a storm, and patience after one, saves an enormous number of plants.

Before the season: prune with purpose

Dead and damaged wood is what breaks loose in high wind. Walk your yard early in the season and remove dead branches, cracked limbs, and anything already hanging.

Palms are the exception people get wrong. Do not over-prune them. A palm needs its green fronds to feed itself and to recover after a storm, and the tight canopy actually sheds wind well. Stripping a palm down to a few upright fronds weakens it right when it needs strength.

Check your young trees

Trees planted in the last few years are the most likely to lean or topple. Before the season peaks:

• Confirm stakes are secure but not girdling the trunk.
• Re-tighten or replace ties that have loosened.
• Water deeply in dry stretches so roots keep establishing.

When a storm approaches

• Move potted plants into the garage, lanai, or against a sheltered wall. A heavy pot becomes a projectile in hurricane wind.
• Photograph your landscape from several angles. If you end up filing an insurance claim, those photos of healthy plants are worth a great deal.
• Secure or store anything loose: trellises, hanging baskets, garden ornaments.

After the storm: the damage you cannot see yet

Wind damage is obvious. The damage that fools people is salt and water. Storm surge and salt spray leave salt in the soil and on foliage, and flooding suffocates roots. Both cause delayed decline. A plant can look fine for weeks and then slowly brown out.

Two things to do right away:

• Flush any beds that took surge or heavy salt spray with fresh water, generously and more than once. You are pushing salt down and out of the root zone.
• Rinse salt film off foliage where you can reach it.

Do not panic-remove brown plants

This is the mistake I most want to prevent. After Ian and Milton, I watched people rip out shrubs and trees that were stressed, not dead. Many plants that brown after a storm will push new growth once the salt is flushed and the soil drains. Scratch a stem: green underneath means the plant is alive. Give things weeks, not days, before you make removal decisions.

Your quick checklist

• Prune dead and damaged wood now, but leave palm canopies mostly alone.
• Check stakes and ties on young trees.
• Photograph the landscape for insurance.
• Move pots and loose items before a storm arrives.
• Flush salt-exposed beds with fresh water afterward.
• Wait before removing anything brown.

If your yard took a hit

Sorting the survivors from the losses is the hardest part, and it is exactly what I do after storms. I offer post-storm health diagnosis visits throughout the Sarasota to Port Charlotte area for a flat $185, or a $65 virtual consult if you want a quick read on photos. Book a visit and we will make a calm, plant-by-plant plan together.