We have officially had our first spring snow. It was tragic. The entire tree canopy of Greeley looks like a tornado swept through it. Branches are on cars. The streets are piled with branches. Trees are in living rooms and we have lost some of our oldest and record holding trees.
Fall has been very warm and pleasant. A warm weather lovers haven. Unfortunately the trees were enjoying it too and not dropping their leaves. 18 inches of heavy, wet snow landed on our town last week. It clung to the tree leaves and branches dragging them to the ground. Even the healthy and trimmed were no match for the weight on the snow.
I am sad to say that my favorite "bird" tree is no more. The top is broken from my plum and many branches were drug to the curb. The city will be coming by to scoop them up and haul them away for grinding into mulch. It really is a sad state of affairs but one that could not entirely be helped.
Your only recourse in these situations is to physically shake and knock the snow from the trees hoping that you have done enough to prevent the damage. The damage from this storm will probably not be fully realized until spring and summer of next year. If you have lost trees, you still have some time to get something new in the ground yet this fall or you can spend the winter thinking about what you want to plant in the spring. Do you your research, make wise choices, and don't let this discourage you too much.
