Droughts can be very tough on trees and plant life. When the soil dries out, vegetation becomes stressed, and the lifespan of your trees dips lower. Therefore, it’s important to give your trees plenty of attention during and after droughts to make sure they’re getting the water and nutrition they need to remain healthy.
Here’s some information from our tree service in Baton Rouge, LA about caring for your trees in exceptionally dry weather.
Symptoms of drought stress
How do you know if your trees are experiencing stress related to the drought? There are a variety of symptoms you may begin to notice. The most obvious signs include wilting or scorched leaves, yellowing, sparse canopies, undersized leaves, leaves starting to drop prematurely or a premature coloration in the fall. Upon closer inspection of the tree, you’ll start to see poorly formed buds or limited growth of new twigs. It may even seem as though the tree isn’t growing at all.
Trees that have been weakened by drought stress are also more susceptible to invasion by disease-causing organisms and pests like borers that can destroy trees. If you notice symptoms suggesting the presence of these diseases or conditions not long after a drought, it is likely that the two are related.
What you can do
It’s important to take action even before your tree begins to show signs of stress. If you know you haven’t been getting enough rainfall, you should make sure to supplement with additional watering. You can either have a sprinkler placed under the tree, or water the tree yourself by hand. Most of the active roots in a tree are within the top foot of the soil, so you don’t need to water extremely deeply, but it can be a good idea to water each morning and keep at least the top couple inches of soil moist.
Water slowly and deeply every five to seven days during drought season when the temperature is around 100 degrees. When the temperature cools off slightly, to 75 to 85 degrees, you can reduce your watering frequency a bit, but you should still water somewhat regularly if you aren’t getting any rain. Keep in mind that the root zone for your tree could extend far beyond the canopy if there’s a lot of space in the area, so you should try to get as much of the root zone damp as possible.
Also keep in mind that turf like grass under the tree’s canopy will result in you needing to water more thoroughly, because that turf will absorb a good amount of water applied to the surface. This is one of the reasons why, with new trees, it’s a good idea to keep mulch in the area to prevent grass from growing and to keep the water near the root ball.
For more information about dealing with drought stress and keeping your trees healthy, or to schedule tree service in Baton Rouge, reach out to the experts at Allan’s Tree Service today.
Categorised in: Tree Service
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