Thursday, August 21, 2008

More Trees Please!

It's that time of year—everything is dying! Or, maybe not. Native plants are blooming and the green couldn't be better. The rains have been nice but still not nearly enough. Especially for trees. Trees need water – lots of water. Just because a tree looks brown and may lose a branch doesn’t mean it’s dying – it just needs water. The cost to keep a mature tree alive is nothing compared to the cost of removing an old tree and installing a new tree.

So, how are your trees being watered? By the sprinklers? Wrong answer! Sprinklers are for the lawn (and the lawn is much more effective at drinking all that water). Are your trees on a drip system? Is the dripper right at the trunk of the tree? Bad bad bad! Trees drink water from the tips of their roots, which are located out at the edge of the tree canopy (or even farther out). Do you water your trees by hand? Enough? Check out this cool watering guide:
Water Use It Wisely
(click on plant watering)
Providing shade, housing wildlife, mitigate the heat island affect, trees are very important in the landscape, the environment, and our local climate. Plant a tree; water a tree; save the trees.

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