There used to be a fence where this hedge of trees now stands, but it blew down in 1991 when Hurricane Bob came roaring through the area. The fence screens the parking area from our house, and it provided a modicum of screening from the road that runs in the front of the house.
We didn't want to put up another fence, which we knew might easily be ripped apart by winds again, so the decision, really, was which tree to put in its place. I wanted something that would get quite tall, with nice foliage, and I immediately ruled out Leyland cypress because they can easily get taken out by wind.
We're not right on the water, and we're up quite a bit from sea level, but the peninsula we live on is surrounded on three sides by water, and Nor'easters can do a lot of damage. I finally decided upon 'Green Giant' arborvitae, and they've done extremely well. They came through a winter blizzard several years ago that swirled around for 24 hours, dumping 36 inches of snow. I watched with apprehension when Sandy's winds gusted between 60-90 mph, taking out power lines, but my green giant hedge, now about 20 feet tall, came through just fine.
If the winds are strong enough and they catch a branch just right, there may be nothing you can do to prevent a tree from coming down in hurricane-like winds. But there are trees that withstand wind quite well. Here are some of them:
Ginkgo biloba Ginkgo
Taxodium distichum Bald Cypress
Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis Honeylocust
Quercus palustris Pin Oak
Zelkova serrata Japanese zelkova
Styphnolobium japonicum Scholar Tree
Lagerstroemia indica Crape Myrtle
Nyssa sylvatica Black Tupelo
Ilex opaca American Holly
Cercis canadensis Redbud
This is by no means a complete list -- or a list that is pertinent to your area. Check with your local extension service for wind-tolerant species in your zone. But if you live close to the water or to an area vulnerable to high winds, think about which trees are best suited for your landscape and which ones might survive a storm.
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