one would think that the best experts would be in hurricane regions... so i searched your title ... and came up with this:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=trees+to+plant+for+a+hurricane&t=ffcm&ia=web

and the first link is this univ of FL doc ... and note all the links therein:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=trees+to+plant+for+a+hurricane&t=ffcm&ia=web

personally.. i would stick to Ag college.. extension office .. or state forestry ... and other profession level information ... rather than random opinion of peeps who may or may not know what they are talking about .. one of the problems with the WWW ... you never really know the level of experience of the writer ... AND TO BE EXACT... I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT A PLEASANT DISCUSSION HERE IN OUR FORUMS ... SO DONT GET ME WRONG ....

and i suppose you could use references from any such state in the hurricane belt ..

good luck ...ken

links in left column look apropos ...

https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/treesandhurricanes/

OMG ... there is a link on the right.. about improving the curb appeal of hurricane shutters.. DUDE!! .. close the shutters and get the heck out of there.. and who cares what it looks like.... i would be in GA before i wondered about curb appeal .. lol ... [yeah, yeah .... i presume they mean when they arent closed.. it just struck me as funny.. presuming there is no storm ...]

The problem I have with online resources is they are almost all about when species can survive hurricanes, not what species can protect the house from one. That is the tricky part :)

And yes jurasico, I would not plant running bamboo - EVER. I actually have some clumping bamboo I can transplant, but I don't think I want it close to the house where it could whip the house, but maybe just out of range where it can break up the wind - but again, I am not sure, because I don't really have any experience with it in a hurricane.

Well, having had my garden destroyed by hurricanes twice and subsequently leaving the state because if it I can only say this- if the wrong hurricane hits you the wrong way ain't no plants gonna help you.

I had enormous palm collections and lost specimens of every palm species listed in that article as helpful. I did not have either Cypress trees or Live Oaks.

Personally I think attempting to mitigate 100-150 mph winds is absurd. And it's the flying debris that gets you- if someone's garage roof is coming at you at 100mph it's taking your palm trees with it.

I would concentrate of my roof integrity, my shutters, and getting in every piece of anything that could in any way become a flying object.

And pray your neighbors do the same thing.

Hurricanes like all trees impartially (more or less)

I KNOW the house won't take 150 mph, but I have to believe hurricane damage is not random. Microcells, spawned tornadoes - sometimes the damage varies block to block. Maybe I can create some sort of wind shadow? Also, if you look at dominant tree cover around here, I doubt it is an accident. Sure, climate and soil matter, but I wonder if the reason live oak is dominant around here has to do with storms?

According to the tree specialist we consulted (who is also a master gardener) the reason LOs and palms are so predominant in Florida is because the are adapted to its weather. He said that many of the trees we see down after a hurricane are actually water oaks, not live oaks. He said water oaks to the untrained eye look very similar to LOs. And of course he added that nothing is immune to the higher hurricane categories.

I don't think you can grow a tree windbreak for hurricanes to protect your house. (Hurricanes are pretty random, I've been thorough a few and the winds vary in speed, direction and duration. ) Building codes have been upgraded and most damage appears to occur to older neglected roofs and fencing, gutters, etc. There are trees that are less resistant to wind damage, but I don't think they act as a wind break, but rather the wind flies through with less breakage.

Regarding the palms I noticed during television coverage of the last big one that on affected properties shown often there were broad-leaved trees down while most palms in the same locations had remained standing.

Continuing with the anecdotal observations in college there was a student living in the dorm room across the hall who was from Louisiana. One time he related that he had been staying in a 200 year old house back home during a hurricane. The two live oaks near the house went over but the evergreen magnolia remained standing. The winds were so fierce they blew the leaves off the magnolia, yet the rest of it remained in position.

Yes, I read somewhere that hurricane resistance in trees is inversely proportional to how tightly the tree retains its leaves. Sand Live Oak will lose all its leaves, but remain standing. Still, I would just as soon not have a 60-80' SLO hanging over my house - you know, just in case!

I read a sign at the Leu garden in Orlando that said in pioneer times there were old growth native pines in the area that had iron hard wood that was an adaptation to hurricanes.

These of course all got cut down during the settlement period.

But it's one more little detail that shows how it is possible for there to be any big trees present in the hurricane belt at all.

We had a strong storm come through yesterday with whirling winds and very heavy rain as well as some hail. It knocked down or damaged free standing trees throughout the neighborhood including a southern magnolia two houses down from mine.

I had no damage in my yard because the canopies of all the trees in my yard grow together. They help support each other during windy conditions. I think the different leaf shapes and growth habits also help break up the wind better.

I have a white bird of paradise that is huge! It's like 20' tall. It would have never made it to that hight except it's supported by the branches of a camphor tree, a fishtail palm sits on one side of it and some yew on the otherside .

In front of all that along the street are crepe myrtles, oaks and a wild tamarind. During Irma many trees were toppled in my neighborhood yet my super tall flimsy looking bird of paradise made it through just fine. Even my brittle Bolivian tree sunflowers stood standing.

Anywhere there are water molds, root destroying fungi or construction damage in effect individual trees may blow over once strong enough winds come along to finish them off.

Tree to withstand hurricanes -- male osage orange. Has survived direct tornado hits (stripped of all leaves & twigs).

I believe the oldest trees in Florida are live oaks and cypress trees. They are the oldest for a number of reasons, but one major reason is that they throw out extensive, wide-ranging root systems. Most of Florida's top soil is very sandy and about four or five feet down we have very solid clay, which makes it difficult for long tap roots to take hold. I believe that the live oaks have long tap roots as well as the wide, rather shallow root system.

For most trees, especially live oaks, it's helpful to thin out the branches to make the trees less susceptible to high winds. Also, it makes sense to pay attention to how healthy the trees are. If they are old and look damaged it's better to cut them down than to have them fall on your house or car.

Much depends upon the soil conditions of your property. It it is low-lying and susceptible to flooding then cypress trees would probably make sense.

I can tell you that our enormous seagrapes and live oak protected our house when a tornado hit and took the roof off our across-the-street neighbor's porch some years back. It seemed to skip right over us. The freight train sound woke us in the middle of the night, and we huddled in our hallway until it passed. We were finding pieces from that roof around our yard for days and weeks afterward.

Also, we apparently never lost power during Irma, though most of our neighbors did. I think our trees protected the lines. I say 'apparently', because we evacuated, but when we returned, hubby had frozen a cup of water then placed a coin on top to show if the freezer lost power and it was intact, unmoved. Once we were allowed back home, we had continuous power, while neighbors had their generator running for a week before theirs was restored.

What ever you plant you will never see the benefit from the tree. Trees grow in tree time, not human time. I have a Southern Magnolia that I planted 7 years ago. When I planted it, the seed hulls were still attached to the roots. Today it is about 7 feet tall, About the same time I had a 14' Nuttal Oak planted. Today it is a bout 50% larger, and neither providing much shade or protection.

I don't know how old you are but I have read statistics that the average house is sold every 6 to 7 years. So what ever you plant, you will probably never see it get big enough to provide the shade or protection you want. You cut down the protection that you wanted.

Krnuttie you make a good point. Trees don't grow five feet over night. However, if one buys a ten-foot tall live oak it could grow around two feet a year if it gets good sun, water and fertilizer. So, in ten years you could have a twenty-foot tall tree which should provide some shade, depending upon how far it is from the house. In fifteen years it could be thirty feet high or so.

The growth rate of trees varies quite a bit. My observation is that Southern Magnolias grow very slowly and last a long time. Live oaks grow a little faster and get bigger. I think cypress trees are also very slow growers.

Thanks guys!

Yeah I am not looking for a big tree - that is why I took out the LO. Banyon and Bald Cypress are in the same boat - I like them but get WAY too big. I wish folks would preplan better. I once lived in a house where the previous owners planted a cottonwood 40' from the foundation. That stuff is great at year 15, but when the tree gets to be 70' and hanging over the house - not cool!

I want something 25-35' tall MAX for west facing shade and protection, and could probably do that in a couple of seasons with bamboo. I just don't know what would happen with stuff like that close to the house in a hurricane. Would it whip the house (BAD house! Whip!)? Something else might be better? There is a fairly short list of hurricane resistant SMALL trees - like crepe myrtle or maybe some sort of small holly?