Many homes and businesses received extensive damage from last month’s hailstorm, but Cullman’s trees were able to weather the storm with minimal damage.

Cullman City Arborist Darrell Johns provided an update on the city’s trees during the Cullman Tree Commission’s regular meeting Tuesday morning. 

“We had very minimal damage to our trees,” he said. “We will recover very well.”

Johns said the storm hit before most of the city’s trees were blooming, but the strong winds would have caused much more damage if they had their leaves. 

“If the trees had been fully leafed out, we would have had a disaster,” he said. 

There were a lot of smaller limbs knocked off trees, but most of that is already cleaned up and the city’s trees are still in good shape, Johns said.

“Our trees got by,” he said. “We just lucked out as far as our trees.”

Johns said he is also overseeing the replacement of trees that were knocked down in previous storms.

“We’ve replaced a lot of trees,” he said. 

Some of the trees are not going in exactly the same spots due to their interference in traffic corners and to follow visibility ordinances that have been passed since the trees were originally planted, he said.

Johns said he is also trying to get a better mix of trees planted in the city, in order to prevent the spread of any new diseases that may come into the area. 

“We try to get more of a variety out there,” he said. “If all your trees are the same, it’s going to get into all of them.”

The Tree Commission also has two vacancies on its board, and is looking for community members to apply for the positions.

Potential members include anyone who lives in the Cullman city limits and has an interest in the trees and beautification of the city. Prospective members can contact the Cullman Mayor’s Office at 256-775-7102 for more information.

The Cullman Tree Commission has seven members, and meets at 10 a.m. on the third Tuesday of every even-numbered month in the Cullman City Hall Auditorium. Its next meeting is set for June 19.