Denver is well-known for having some seriously bad hailstorms. Just think of how many commercials you see advertising hail sales on brand-new cars! Though you know hail is a huge problem for your house and your car, did you know it’s also the leading cause of damage for your home’s landscaping? Unless you take steps to protect your plants from damaging storms, you’ll need to know how to help your plants recover as quickly as possible. Here are a few simple tips from your trusted Denver sprinkler system experts to help you get your yard back to its former glory in no time.

Inspect Your Trees First

Your trees should always be your first priority. Small hailstones aren’t likely to damage established branches, but larger ones almost always will. As soon as the storm is over, walk around your property and inspect your trees. Look for any downed limbs and remove them to clear the yard and prevent additional damage to your grass. Check the canopy for broken limbs and branches that haven’t fallen to the ground yet. If you’re comfortable removing them yourself, do so as soon as you can.

 If not or if you don’t have a ladder tall enough, hire an experienced landscaping team to get rid of the damaged limbs quickly. The sooner you do, the safer your property and the rest of your plants will be. Keep in mind that your landscaping team may need to trim certain parts of your trees back to reduce the risk of disease or decay. Your trees’ shape may change, but this simple change will help keep them healthy and reduce the risk of future hailstorms causing serious damage.

Pay Attention to Your Shrubs

Your shrubs, like your trees, can easily be damaged by hailstorms and will need a little extra TLC to get them back in shape. Check your shrubs for damaged limbs and remove the broken ones with hedge trimmers. A few days after the storm, make a plan to trim the plants back and keep them pruned throughout the summer. Keeping the limbs trimmed back will reduce the risk of breakage in future storms.

Check Your Flowers

Unfortunately, flowers are susceptible to severe damage even in minor hailstorms. Even pea-sized hail is enough to shred the blooms and damage the leaves in a matter of seconds. That said, the hail won’t kill most flowers. It just destroys the blooms until the flowers can recover. 

The best thing you can do is trim back the damaged growth and leaves quickly. Make sure you use sharp garden shears to trim the growth away. This will make it easier for your plants to recover quickly. If the bulk of the flowers are damaged, trim the entire plant down to the ground. The plants will eventually grow back with regular care and watering.

If you have annual flowers (ones that won’t grow back after you plant them each year), you likely won’t be able to save them. Instead of leaving the flowers in place, you may want to pull them up and replant new flowers for the rest of the growing season. This is because these types of flowers just aren’t able to rebound quickly.

Look After Your Veggies

Like annual flowers, vegetables are very easily damaged by hail. After the storm, take a look in your vegetable garden. Remove damaged vegetables to prevent rot on the vine. Prune torn up leaves and trim back broken stalks carefully. If the bulk of the plant is undamaged, you should be able to see a normal harvest by fall. However, if the plants are truly damaged, you’ll either need to start over or call it a season and remove the damaged plants for good. 

If you end up needing to replant some vegetables, look for already sprouted or growing versions at your local garden center. This way, you’ll have a better chance of getting the harvest you expect. It may also be worth planting the new vegetables in large pots so you can move them to a covered area when severe storms are expected in the forecast. 

Inspect Your Sprinkler System

Though sprinklers are designed to stand up to the elements without damage, severe hailstorms can damage the sprinkler heads if you’re not careful. Walk around your yard and look at each sprinkler head up close. If everything looks okay, run the sprinklers through a quick cycle. Make sure the heads pop up normally and fully retract at the end of the cycle. If they aren’t popping up or retracting completely, you’ll need to schedule a repair appointment.

It’s also a good idea to look at the spray pattern each head puts out. Large hailstones can knock the heads out of alignment and change the spray pattern, putting your landscaping at risk. If the sprinklers aren’t working the way you want, your repair technician will be able to realign the heads so they work normally. 

Have a Plan for Future Storms

Prevention is always better than dealing with unexpected damage. Find ways to mount covers over your fragile plants. Hoop houses and tarps mounted on tall posts are great and easy solutions. Stay on top of pruning and tree trimming throughout the growing season to reduce the risk of fallen branches and snapped limbs. If possible, try to plant annual flowers in pots that are easy to move when storms roll in. This way, you’ll be able to enjoy the beauty they provide without worrying about severe weather killing them prematurely.

Need Repairs?

If you’re worried about your sprinkler system after a strong storm rolls through the Denver metro area, don’t let the repairs wait. Schedule an appointment with the team at Water Solutions Sprinkler Service. Remember, the growing season lasts for several months. The sooner you get the repairs taken care of, the sooner you’ll be able to focus on your garden like normal. Contact us today to schedule a repair or to get a free no-obligation estimate from our experienced staff.