5 Ways To Keep Your Kauai Property’s Landscape Safe During Storms

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5 Ways To Keep Your Kauai Property’s Landscape Safe During StormsThe landscaping on your Kauai property can be an incredible asset, drawing guests to your grounds and providing an attractive environment for business and leisure. Or, the landscape can represent a major risk—especially when inclement weather sweeps the island.

Coconuts become serious (even fatal) flying objects. Stray branches can rip off of trees, causing harm to plants and creating a trip-and-fall hazard on the property. Break walls and beach entries that are not secure are dangerous places, especially for visitors who are less accustomed to Kauai’s weather whims and the reckless nature of our ocean.

The good news is, these 5 landscape maintenance tasks can keep your property safe during the calm, and the storms.

Prune Palm Trees

For safety’s sake, remove small coconuts from palm trees to prevent accidental “droppings” that can cause harm to property and people. When the tradewinds kick up, coconuts can be destructive.

Palm trees can reach upwards of 100 feet in height, so consider whether you have the tools and expertise to properly prune and remove coconuts — in most cases, it’s worth it to hire a professional to prune your trees.

No Ka Oi uses special aerial lifts and trimming techniques to preserve tree health and ensure safety on the property.  

Keep Trees And Shrubs Neat And Clean

5 Ways To Keep Your Kauai Property’s Landscape Safe During StormsPostpone pruning, and you could end up with more maintenance work than you’d bargained for after a storm strikes. Stray, overgrown branches can tear off during heavy winds, causing damage to trees. Insects and disease fester in tree wounds where branches break off.

Literally nip this risk in the bud by trimming back branches that are diseased, dead, dying, or simply growing beyond the tree’s profile and potentially could get caught and torn off by Kauai tradewinds.

Pruning is key for tree and plant health, but it also keeps grounds neat and free of trip-and-fall hazards while cutting down on post-storm cleanup efforts.

Secure Slopes And Prevent Erosion

Heavy rains can wash away soil from graded areas, presenting erosion problems if steps are not taken to establish and maintain retaining walls and/or groundcover.

Pay special attention to landscaping on slopes: Plants growing on inclines and structures, such as walls or boulders, are designed to secure soil and prevent a landslide of sorts.

Post Safety Signage

Just because your property has a beach access point does not mean that the entry is safe for everyone. Experienced Kauai fishermen know how to traverse rocky ground and navigate inlets to the beach that tourists should avoid for safety reasons.

Be sure to post signage that warns people about unsafe entries or other potential hazards on the landscape.

Stay Alert

Keep an eye on the weather and pre-empt weather events by checking off the points on your storm maintenance plan.

Be sure trees are pruned and coconuts that could potentially get thrown from trees during winds are removed. Review the property and secure objects that could become a risk for guests, including outdoor living furniture.

And after the storm, immediately clean up branches and other debris on your grounds.   

Establish A Storm Maintenance Plan With No Ka Oi

We can’t always predict the weather, but we can plan for it. Do you have a landscape maintenance plan in place to keep your property safe during storms? This is a must with Kauai’s many microclimates and temperamental tradewinds.

Make your landscape an asset rather than a risk — let No Ka Oi manage maintenance tasks and secure your property.

Call us any time at 808-335-5887, or fill out our simple contact form and we’ll get in touch with you!



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