Given the damaging impacts of hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton last year, you may want to prepare your landscape and trees for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season – and the sooner the better.

“Best management practices include supporting soil health through appropriate fertilization, monitoring landscapes and trees for pests and disease, managing tree roots for health and structure etc.,” said Alyssa Vinson, urban forestry agent for UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County. “All management that leads to a healthier plant leads to a landscape that’s more resilient to disturbance. That doesn’t mean that a once-in-a-lifetime storm isn’t going to knock down a perfectly healthy tree, just that in normal circumstances, a healthy tree is going to fare better.”

Home and business owners can take steps to make sure the trees can withstand tropical storm- and hurricane-force winds and rain, Vinson said. They include:

• Young trees need structural pruning more frequently until they are mature, when they may need little to no pruning.
• Look for dying, dead or broken branches.
• Keep an eye on trunks, especially for strange bulges, breaks, wounds or bark shedding.
• Check the ground around each tree and watch for areas of gradual sinking or rising in the soil — or mushrooms growing from the base of the tree, which can indicate a fungal infection. They are the fruiting body of an existing fungus.
• Contact a certified arborist for an evaluation far in advance of hurricane season.

“Well-established and mature trees are often very resilient,” Vinson said. “If you monitor them for concerns and have them structurally pruned by a certified arborist, you will maximize their ability to withstand storms.”

In addition to pruning your trees, property owners should trim their landscapes, said Lynn Barber, the Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ (FFL) agent with UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County. Use pruners, not hedge shears, to cut shrubs back. Cutting back one-third of the plant will improve the aesthetics and health of the plant, Barber said.

FFL Director Claire Lewis also offered a few suggestions for getting your outdoor space ready for hurricanes:

• Bring in bird feeders and furniture.
• Clear gutters of debris.
• Secure plants and yard items.
• Turn off irrigation systems.
• Secure rain barrels to avoid excess water.

“A little prep now can save big headaches later,” Lewis said.