Damage to Wigert’s by Hurricane Ian :(

[Sansokuu]

Thankfully the owners are ok. They took a lot of damage despite their preparations but it could have been worse. They posted on their facebook that their internet and phones are down but any orders would greatly help!! I’m going to go to the site and take a peek at what they have.

www.wigertsbonsai.com Link to their website.

 

[cockroach]

I feel for them. And then after the losses someone has to clean up and do the rescue and recovery work on those trees.
My little garden after a typhoon was a major PITA. This dwarfs that kerfuffle.

Good luck and keep your chin up to those involved and affected.

 

[Mikecheck123]

WOW. They've been through hurricanes before. But not like this.

 

[Mikecheck123]

This is a bit of an obscure movie at this point, but I have always hated all Ian's because of this hilarious scene.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

It looks messy, but recoverable. At least they didn't have 10' of saltwater storm surge over the entire nursery.

FWIW... all my trees are now on the ground, next to or under my benches.

 

[Rivian]

Why did they not put expensive trees in expensive pots and with huge canopies on the ground?
"Hurricane" sounds like something where that would be appropriate

 

[Potawatomi13]

Hurricane/Fire Sale anybody? Cannot hurt to ask.

 

[KikurageOtomo]

Why did they not put expensive trees in expensive pots and with huge canopies on the ground?
"Hurricane" sounds like something where that would be appropriate

I'm sure they did for most the reasonably sized "Specimen" tier trees. I'm assuming the man power required to get all massive, several foot tall tropicals onto the ground was probably prohibitive compared to the risk of a few of them having lost branches and needing a new pot.

 

[rockm]

Why did they not put expensive trees in expensive pots and with huge canopies on the ground?
"Hurricane" sounds like something where that would be appropriate

Jeez, "shoulda woulda coulda" from someone in landlocked Germany... From the video they posted on Facebook, they DID put many trees on the ground, tied trees down, moved trees inside. The place is huge and the storm changed course and intensified pretty quickly. and FWIW, the word "hurricane" doesn't immediately terrify people in the S.E. and mid-Atlantic...

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Jeez, "shoulda woulda coulda" from someone in landlocked Germany... From the video they posted on Facebook, they DID put many trees on the ground, tied trees down, moved trees inside. The place is huge and the storm changed course and intensified pretty quickly. and FWIW, the word "hurricane" doesn't immediately terrify people in the S.E. and mid-Atlantic...

I have family in Naples that were pretty casual about the whole thing... until the hurricane hit them dead center. Everyone has different risk tolerances. I would have been in Knoxville by Monday

 

[brentwood]

I'm sure they did for most the reasonably sized "Specimen" tier trees. I'm assuming the man power required to get all massive, several foot tall tropicals onto the ground was probably prohibitive compared to the risk of a few of them having lost branches and needing a new pot.

They showed pictures of that happening in the days before landfall - only so much you can do with that many trees, limited space, time, labor...
B

 

[Maiden69]

FWIW... all my trees are now on the ground, next to or under my benches.

Why did they not put expensive trees in expensive pots and with huge canopies on the ground?
"Hurricane" sounds like something where that would be appropriate

You are both right...

I have an issue with this, I get that they are on the west coast of FL and most hurricanes hit the east side so they don't normally experience the full winds of the storm. But not placing all those trees in the floor and dropping the canopies is either plain ignorance, stupidity, or something else $$$.

 

[Paradox]

You are both right...

I have an issue with this, I get that they are on the west coast of FL and most hurricanes hit the east side so they don't normally experience the full winds of the storm. But not placing all those trees in the floor and dropping the canopies is either plain ignorance, stupidity, or something else $$$.

The track of the storm was changing at least every 24 hours. A couple of days before, it was looking to hit much further west. With the number of trees they have, they might not have had time to move everything. Most of them probably had their own houses to secure as well.

Let's just hope they didn't get too much damage and can recover with little loss

 

[Mikecheck123]

so they don't normally experience the full winds of the storm.

You have no clue what you're talking about. They went through another huge hurricane just a few years ago. They were BETTER prepared for this one, but there's only so much you can do.

 

[Maiden69]

The track of the storm was changing at least every 24 hours. A couple of days before, it was looking to hit much further west. With the number of trees they have, they might not have had time to move everything. Most of them probably had their own houses to secure as well.

I have gone through several hurricanes, you get prepared in advance, just in case. If it moves away great, if not, you sheltered the storm. We are not talking about a tornado that caught them with their pants down, they had plenty of time to prepare. I feel sorry for all the people that prepared and still lost everything. By Tuesday morning it was obvious it was going to do landfall somewhere in the west coast of FL... that would be the a-ha moment for them to move the trees down.

Would it be enough to prevent the losses? No, but the damage would be less than what it was.

 

[rockm]

You are both right...

I have an issue with this, I get that they are on the west coast of FL and most hurricanes hit the east side so they don't normally experience the full winds of the storm. But not placing all those trees in the floor and dropping the canopies is either plain ignorance, stupidity, or something else $$$.

Looking at their FB vid of their prep (they live posted yesterday) and posted pics two days ago showing trees off stands, benches cleared, trees inside (a dozen handcart/wagons full of smaller trees inside, alongside larger trees), they did all of that with a significant number of their trees. They look to have over 500 maybe 1,000 trees in various stages of development on benches stands etc. The photos above only tell a portion of the story...

 

[Maiden69]

You have no clue what you're talking about. They went through another huge hurricane just a few years ago. They were BETTER prepared for this one, but there's only so much you can do.

Ok... sure. Irma and Michael were the only 2 hurricane this decade to make landfall or go through the west side of FL. Irma was a Cat 1 when it went through Ft Myers/Tampa area. Not the same as having a Cat 4 behemoth approaching you head on... go look at pictures of Puerto Rico to see what that does. Full concrete houses roof torn apart where all you can see is the rebar sticking out. They have not seen a storm like this in their lifetime.

 

[Maiden69]

@rockm I understand that, I just can't understand why would they think that leaving those huge trees in cinder block towers was ok... Hell, I wouldn't even have a tree that huge in a cinder block tower not filled with rebar and cement. I would be paranoid that the thing will fall all the time.

 

[Paradox]

I have gone through several hurricanes, you get prepared in advance, just in case. If it moves away great, if not, you sheltered the storm. We are not talking about a tornado that caught them with their pants down, they had plenty of time to prepare. I feel sorry for all the people that prepared and still lost everything. By Tuesday morning it was obvious it was going to do landfall somewhere in the west coast of FL... that would be the a-ha moment for them to move the trees down.

Would it be enough to prevent the losses? No, but the damage would be less than what it was.

I have also experienced several hurricanes. We get them here frequently, usually we have at least one a year we have to deal with.

I have 2 boats, ~ 50 trees, and a house I need to secure. I watch every storm like a hawk and if it looks like it will be too close, we haul both boats. You often don't know that until 2 days ahead of time because they can and do change that much.

That doesn't seem like much to do but it can take most of the day so I have to take a last minute day off of work to do it.

If I had to prep every time a storm shows up in the Atlantic, I'd never have my boats in the water after June some years, and my trees would not be on their benches.

Last year the tree was one that looked like it was going to be a direct hit here. We did all the things, hauled boats, moved trees.
The next morning the track had it going east of Montauk, a 50 mile change in track overnight. Was very happy it didn't hit us.

 

[rockm]

@rockm I understand that, I just can't understand why would they think that leaving those huge trees in cinder block towers was ok... Hell, I wouldn't even have a tree that huge in a cinder block tower not filled with rebar and cement. I would be paranoid that the thing will fall all the time.

you need to take a look at what they did before casting the "ignorant, stupid" stone. The "they had it coming" stuff is not fair or accurate.