(top left) The historic Vizcaya live oaks, seen here providing shade for yoga
class, sustained very little damage from Hurricane Irma.
(top right) Aerial view of Vizcaya, with historic live oaks visible at lower right.
Photo: Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
(above right) The Garden Mound's construction in 1917, with newly transplanted,
century-old live oaks.
despite almost a century of damage and their advanced age, the Garden Mound live
oaks are vigorous, thriving trees. However, our efforts had not been fully put to the test
until September 10, 2017, when Hurricane Irma arrived. During the storm, the live oaks
were subject to more than 13 consecutive hours of winds over 80 mph (129 kph); at
the storm's peak, winds reached 110 mph (177 kph).
Live oaks are resilient trees and we expected them to do fairly well, but what we found
was astounding: though the Garden Mound live oak trees were mostly defoliated,
there was no damage beyond twigs and a few small, thumb-sized branches. In fact,
not a single tree on our maintenance program received major damage. If we compare
these trees to those in the surrounding forest where 25% of the canopy was destroyed,
the results are truly exceptional. Care and maintenance, especially for aged trees,
really does work!
Ian Simpkins is Deputy Director for
Horticulture & Urban Agriculture
at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.
www.urban-forestry.com 33
