DECIDUOUS WINDBREAK
It’s not unusual for the arboretum to experience 35 mile per hour winds with gusts of 50 miles per hour. Planted in 1984 to protect a quickly expanding tree collection, the arboretum’s deciduous (loses its leaves) windbreak has been a crucial asset of our wind protection plan for decades. Surviving the 2020 derecho unharmed, this wall of interconnected trees protected our western-most collections from damage. A derecho is a a widespread, long-lived wind storm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms. The arboretum sustained winds of 120-140 miles per hour for 15 minutes, losing over 300 mature specimen trees in that time. This particular row of trees stands proud today with only a few weak wooded species missing.
Compared to a traditional evergreen/conifer windbreak, a deciduous windbreak filters the wind rather than forming a wall. The dispersed wind then is far less severe and allows the trees on the leeward side to develop a stronger wind tolerance. Trees behind a traditional windbreak are often tall, straight, and weak wooded due to not having to adapt to a wind-load. Allowing trees to experience some wind makes their roots and canopy better able to handle intense storms, making them more resilient to severe weather. This windbreak is comprised of now mature trees, with overlapping canopies and roots. The trees have been limbed up to lessen the wind stress on the base of the trunk and to provide a view of the natural space adjacent to the arboretum. This spot is one of the quieter areas of the arboretum, often with amazing wildlife observations.
While the backbone of this windbreak is made up of several dozen swamp white oaks (Quercus bicolor),additional tree species have been added to diversify the windbreak. This includes white basswood (Tilia americana var. heterophylla), northern pecan (Carya illinoinensis), black walnut (Juglans nigra), hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), and Osage orange (Maclura pomifera).
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Plant List:
Carya illinoinensis ‘Donnellson’ – Donnellson northern pecan
Celtis occidentalis – Hackberry
Juglans nigra – Black walnut
Maclura pomifera ‘Chief’ – Chief Osage orange
Maclura pomifera ‘K-1’ – K-1 Osage orange
Maclura pomifera ‘Keokuk’ – Koekuk Osage orange
Quercus bicolor – Swamp white oak
Tilia americana var. heterophylla – White basswood