WIND - THE GOOD AND BAD OF IT

As I've mentioned before, wind is not my favorite thing.  In fact, I think wind is my very least favorite thing.  Just hearing it howling around outside when I'm inside makes me have visions of things being ruined.  Wind in the flower garden, however, does have a few good points.  It spreads the seed and pollen, and, by circulating the air, it actually discourages diseases in your plants.  But, it can also cause great problems:

• WIND BURN  This scorching of plants can happen when the plant is exposed to the wind.  Plants that have cold or dry winds can make your plant tops misshapen and even kill growth buds.  Leaves can actually "burn."  This past spring we had a terrible wind, and all my clematis leaves were wind burned--they were brittle and black. The tulips, hyacinths and allium were all blown so they weren't upright.   This past month we had a big wind, and several of the gladiola were bent so bad that they couldn't be upright--just blown over, which caused bent and curved shapes.
• WIND ROCK  This can affect young plants or recently transplanted ones.  They actually rock back and forth, causing root damage, which causes slow growth, or even death if it dries the plant out.
• WIND THROW  This causes the most extreme damage.  Branches are actually torn away with this kind of wind.  I can hear the wind outside with this type, and can envision whole branches being ripped off and blown into the cul-de-sac where I live, and onto our front lawn and driveway.  During strong winds of this type, trees may even be uprooted, as well as your plants.
• HIGH WINDS WATER LOSS  When temperatures are hot and winds are strong, there is excessive water loss in a plant.  The plant has reduced growth, and it's attempts to grow upright in a strong wind is reduced. I've read that its development can be reduced as much as 30 per cent.

There are things we can do to prevent, or help the damage done by wind.  Planting a hedge, or putting up a fence or screen, can all help in filtering wind.  Staking and tying tall plants or small trees can also keep the plant upright and its root system intact.  I remember the story about the farmer who could "sleep at night when the wind blows."  He could sleep because he was prepared for it.  I plan on being more prepared for wind and the damage it can do.