This week on the Good Growing podcast we relive the recent derecho with horticulture educator Emily Swihart. Emily and Chris swap stories about their experiences with past and present derechos. But what does all this wind do to our trees? We talk about cleaning up our trees after severe windstorms and how to prepare our trees for future wind events.

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0:36 Hey Ken!
2:05 Welcome Emily!
3:20 Recounting the Iowa derecho
8:01 What happened during the most recent July 2023 Illinois derecho
10:42 Tornadoes vs. derechos
14:07 Ken defines a derecho
https://www.spc.noaa.gov/misc/AbtDerechos/derechofacts.htm
17:08 Steps to take after a severe weather event
Using chainsaws
19:25 Cutting wood under tension
21:53 Stay away from powerlines!
22:03 Hanging limbs “Widow Makers”
25:20 Finding an arborist
26:09 Things to look for when hiring an arborist
30:32 Long-term management to prepare trees to withstand wind storms; Prevention is the best medicine
33:04 Make sure the tree has adequate space for root development
38:40 Problematic trees
40:32 Angle of branching equals strength
41:25 Observe remaining tree after a major wind storm
42:27 How a changed landscape impacts remaining trees
43:34 How many derechos can we expect in the future?
44:35 Extreme loss of trees and its impact on people
Radar recording of the derecho moving across Illinois https://www.weather.gov/ilx/june29_derecho

Contact us! 
Chris Enroth: cenroth@illinois.edu
Ken Johnson: kjohnso@illinois.edu 

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Any products or companies mentioned during the podcast are in no way a promotion or endorsement of these products or companies.

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