Hurricane season runs through the end of November, and August and September are historically the busiest stretch for Southwest Florida. If you’ve invested in landscaping this year — new beds, fresh mulch, young trees — a little prep now protects that investment and keeps cleanup manageable after a storm passes.
Before the Storm: Your Landscape Checklist
Walk your property and check trees and palms for dead or weak branches — these become dangerous projectiles in high wind. Move lightweight furniture and decor indoors, and anchor anything too heavy to relocate. Clear gutters and drains so low-lying beds don’t flood, and make sure fences and trellises are securely anchored. A thick layer of mulch helps garden beds retain structure and moisture through wind and rain, and staking young trees now gives their root systems a fighting chance.
Choosing Storm-Resilient Plants
Native Florida plants like saw palmetto, live oaks, and sabal palms have deep root systems and flexible trunks that weather high wind far better than fast-growing, shallow-rooted varieties. If you’re replacing storm-damaged plants this fall, leaning into natives is one of the best long-term investments you can make in a wind-prone landscape.
When a Watch or Warning Is Issued
Bring in any remaining loose items, shut off your irrigation system, and cover delicate plants with tarps secured by stakes. These last-minute steps take an hour and can save weeks of recovery.
After the Storm
Once the storm passes, inspect trees for damage, deep-water stressed plants to flush salt from the soil, and apply fertilizer to support recovery. If storm runoff left standing water or eroded low spots in your yard, regrading with fresh fill dirt is often the fix that prevents the same area from flooding next time. Unplugged Designs delivers mulch, fill dirt, and grading materials across the Fort Myers area, both to help you prep now and to help you recover fast afterward.