Damage to trees increases with increasing wind storm speeds. But, not all trees withstand winds to the same degree. Some trees are better choices than others in hurricane prone coastal landscapes.

Since Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida in 1993, scientists from the University of Florida have been studying the effect of wind speeds on urban trees. They have assembled lists of relative wind resistance for over 80 tree species. Many of these tree species are common in the Tampa Bay region.

This information was used to develop the following list of common trees within the Tampa Bay region that are moderately to highly wind resistant.

List of common trees in Tampa Bay Region that are highly wind resistant.

American Holly
Baldcypress
Cabbage Palm
Canary Island Date Palm
Chinese Fan Palm
Chinese windmill palm
Crapemyrtle
Dahoon Holly
Date Palm
Flowering Dogwood
Myrtle oak
Pindo Palm
Podocarpus
Pondcypress
Sand Live Oak
Southern Live Oak
Southern Magnolia
Turkey Oak
Yaupon Holly

List of common trees in Tampa Bay Region that are moderately wind resistant.

American Hornbeam
Chickasaw Plum
Common Persimmon
Eastern Redbud
Fringetree
Pignut Hickory
Pop Ash
Seagrape
Sweetbay Magnolia
Sweetgum
Water Tupelo
Winged Elm

Duryea, M.L., E. Kampf and R.C. Little. 2007. Hurricanes and the Urban Forest: 1. Effects on Southeastern U.S. Coastal Plan Tree Species. Arboric. & Urban Forestry. v.33(2):83-97.

Northrop, Robert J., Kathy Beck, Rob Irving, Shawn M. Landry and Michael G. Andreu. 2013. City of Tampa Urban Forest Management Plan. November 2013. City of Tampa, Florida.

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