Recovering from Hurricanes
Posted August 2025
Researchers: Christopher Vincent, Tripti Vashisth
Contact: Christopher Vincent, UF/IFAS CREC civince@ufl.edu
Summary:
Recent hurricanes have harmed citrus trees in much of Florida, especially in the sweet orange growing areas. Reports from growers suggest that trees take a long time to recover from hurricanes. We began this project to describe the recovery process as well as to document what grower practices protected trees from damage or helped trees recover more quickly. We observed that trees exposed to Category 1 winds showed less defoliation initially, but the leaves were more stressed during the dry season. We have measured that hurricanes limited the branches’ capacity to move water to the leaves for at least 6 months after a category 1 storm, though the effect of category 3 winds is greater. Stronger winds showed more immediate damage, but less stress to new leaves in the dry season, because the less canopy requires less water. Leaf health recovered during the rainy season, while canopy recovery was slower. Canopy loss was still evident more than 15 months later in trees that had greater than 75 mph winds during Hurricane Ian. Gibberellic acid (GA) applications provided some protection from Category 1 wind damage. Because of the effects of the hurricane on tree water transport capacity, treatments that improve water availability (frequent irrigation, particle film application) are most likely to hasten recovery. We continue to follow up on trees after Hurricane Milton.
Take Home Message:
- Hurricanes impact trees through both defoliation and damage to the xylem capacity to move water.
- Even trees with little obvious damage are stressed by dry and hot conditions in the following year.
- Preventing high winds and GA can help prevent damage beforehand, while frequent irrigation and particle films can improve health during the recovery period.
