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Give Landscapes an Extra Drink of Water
7/12/2008
Linda Langelo
Horticulture
Program Coordinator
Colorado State University Extension
Golden Plains
Area |
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Now is a good time to supply that supplemental fall watering to
your trees, shrubs and plants, particularly if it hasn’t been done
already. As soil water gets in short supply, many trees will begin to conserve
by dropping a portion of their leaves. Drought injury may already be done and
severely affected plants may wilt and die if adequate water is not supplied.
However, in most cases drought effects on trees are delayed. Damaged trees may
make it through the summer only to decline during the winter months and then to
die the following spring. Also, drought affected trees are more subject to
canker diseases and may be more prone to attack by certain
insects.
Additional deep soak watering will be beneficial in fighting
the heat and environmental stress that most landscapes have been under for a
number of months. You want to put the hose on a slow trickle (alternatively a
soaker hose, trickle irrigation for a young windbreak or even an impact
sprinkler in the yard) so that the water soaks deep into the ground. The
objective is to moisten the top 18 inches of soil at a time. For more mature
trees, irrigated underneath the tree dripline or inside the outermost
branch.
It is also important to note how other plants in your landscape
are holding up with the long hot and dry conditions we have been experiencing.
Most native plants can handle the heat stress that has been occurring the past
few months, but extra water this fall will help plants overwinter. Irrigate
perennial plants once a month this winter if snowfall is
absent.
Source: Monte Hampton, Ford County Kansas, Extension
Agriculture Agent |
Page Created and Maintained by: Perry D. Brewer, Area
Extension Agent (Technology Education/Youth)
7/17/2008 |
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