Plants may be weakened and all or parts may die in late spring or summer when temperatures rise. Weakened plants also may be subject to insect and disease problems. Woody plants with shallow root systems require supplemental watering during extended dry fall and winter periods. These include European white and paper birches; Norway, silver, red, Rocky Mountain and hybrid maples; lindens, alders, hornbeams, dogwoods, willows, and mountain ashes. Evergreen plants that benefit include spruce, fir, arborvitae, yew, Oregon grape-holly, boxwood, and Manhattan euonymus.
Woody plants also benefit from mulch to conserve soil moisture. Herbaceous perennials and ground covers in exposed sites are more subject to winter freezing and thawing. This opens cracks in soil that expose roots to cold and drying. Winter watering combined with mulching can prevent this damage See fact sheet 7. Lawns also are prone to winter damage. Newly established lawns, whether seeded or sodded, are especially susceptible.
Susceptibility increases for lawns with south or west exposures. Water only when air temperatures are above 40 degrees F. Apply water at mid-day so it will have time to soak in before possible freezing at night.
A solid layer persisting for more than a month of ice on lawns can cause suffocation or result in matting of the grass. Plants receiving reflected heat from buildings, walls and fences are more subject to damage. The low angle of winter sun makes this more likely on south or west exposures. Windy sites result in faster drying of sod and plants and require additional water.
Lawns in warm exposures are prone to late winter mite damage. Water is the best treatment to prevent turf injury see fact sheet 5. Monitor weather conditions and water during extended dry periods without snow cover — one to two times per month. Move so as to position yourself directly under the outer edges of that canopy. You are now standing on a portion of the circle that makes up the dripline. Most of the water your tree's roots are going to draw out of the ground will be drawn from this area and from the area just outside it further away from the tree.
In other words, people who water a tree right up near its trunk are acting on a fundamental misunderstanding of how tree roots take up water. The smaller, "feeder" roots are the ones that will draw up most of the water from the soil, and these feeder roots tend to emanate out from the dripline. The all-important feeder roots reside mainly in the uppermost one foot of the soil.
So your goal in watering a tree is to moisten this top foot of soil in the dripline area. You want to water enough that the soil ends up moist, not soggy so as not to over-water the tree. This guideline is more useful than speaking in terms of gallons because the number of gallons required will depend on factors such as how well your soil retains water. You can use products specifically designed to test your soil for moistness. For example, a soil probe is a metal rod to test how deeply your water has seeped into the soil.
After watering your tree, push the rod down into the soil as far as you can. Wet soil is easier to penetrate than dry soil, so the rod should slip pretty easily down through whatever soil has been watered sufficiently.
If you can push the rod down a foot deep but then meet resistance signifying dry soil , you have probably achieved your goal of watering the tree to the correct depth. Water that percolates down lower than that will go unused and is therefore wasted. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Either way, we are capable of performing those services. Category: Landscape. Am I Done Watering Yet? The Watering Continues Use care though, even with a good initial year under your belt, you can still have drought damage to your plants even after they have been in the ground for a number of years.
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