Well, as we say in Hurricane Alley.....it could have been sooo much worse. Sorry to hear about the damage.....it is always heartbreaking to lose trees that you have nurtured for so long. My Abius both went over in the last two storms we have had and yet were both quite willing to be propped up without too much negative long term consequences. Bananas are even more resilient. Now Irene is heading this way. Seems she is inclined to gather some more strength on her way. Hoping she stays out to sea. Thanks for the report, Gwenn. Good luck with the staking of your damaged trees. Hope that recovery is rapid and as complete as possible.

Harry

Good luck with the recovery process. How is your rambutan doing?

Gwenn - could you send some pictures?

Do you think staking with heavier stakes would have prevented any of the misshaps? Or are the trees just too big for that? This kind of thing happening in your hurricane alley, would make me want to shorten up tree height, stake them mercilessly and make them less susceptible to whipping winds, but maybe that's not an option in your case...

GOOD LUCK - MangoArf

Thanks for the good wishes. I hope Irene and the rest of this season's storms stay away from all of us!
I will take some pictures tomorrow.
The trees were all "mature" enough not to be staked. On the bright side, the Abius needed to be trimmed anyway as I couldn't reach the fruit up top. This will give force me to give them both a nice "pugging".
Jay- We really staked the rambutan well after it fell last month, so it had no problem last night. The fruits are just starting to turn red.

Wow Gwenn,
not living in hurricane alley, it is hard to imagine how scary it would be. At least earthquakes are a surprise, not sure if that is better or worse? Glad you guys (and the dogs) are OK, the trees will grow back or at worse leave you more room for planting more trees.:o)

good luck,
-Ethan

its coming our way, theyve upgraded it to a possible category 3 but I'm a little skeptic, It just doesnt seem hot enough