If the trees in your yard need every inch of water to stay healthy during the summer’s heat, there are several techniques you can employ. In general, it is essential to know how to water mature trees during drought seasons to keep them hydrated and discourage harmful insects and pests.
Clemmon’s tree service company offers valuable tips for watering trees during a drought.
How to Water Mature Trees During Drought Periods
Watering the soil around mature trees is key to keeping them healthy and strong. But when it’s hot, dry, and windy outside, or if your trees are in sandy soil, it can be challenging to ensure that they get enough water.
So, wondering how to water mature trees during drought stress? Follow this procedure when watering mature trees during drought periods:
- Check the soil moisture at the tree’s base with a hand tester. If the soil is dry, water immediately and deeply to encourage root growth.
- Water trees deeply but infrequently. This will encourage deeper roots and help the tree to become more drought-tolerant. Water deeply, using a soaker hose, to achieve a depth of 8 to 12 inches that encourages root growth.
- Use water at a temperature of 60 degrees or higher to avoid damaging the tree’s root system.
- The best time to water mature trees is early in the day to allow the water to soak into the ground and not evaporate as much in sunlight or windy conditions.
- Give each tree 10 gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter weekly. (The typical garden hose dispenses between 9 and 17 gallons per minute)
Drip Systems
What about how to water mature trees during drought periods automatically? The best method is with a drip system.
Drip systems use small tubes that deliver water directly to the tree’s roots. This means you don’t have to worry about watering the entire lawn or garden — you just need to ensure that the tube is in contact with the ground where it meets the tree trunk.
Drip systems are easy to set up and maintain. You can get professionals to install them or install them yourself. The cost depends on how many trees you want to water and how large your property is.
Why It’s Important to Water Mature Trees During Drought Seasons
It’s hard to believe that a drought can affect mature trees, but it does. Watering mature trees during drought seasons is vital to their health because it helps them maintain their roots and moisten the soil around them.
Drought periods can be very stressful on trees, especially mature ones. This is because they are more sensitive to changes in moisture levels in the soil than younger trees are.
Mature trees primarily rely on rain or supplemental watering to keep them healthy during dry spells. So you must think carefully about how to water mature trees during drought periods
Contact Clemmons’ Best Arborists for More Tree Care Advice
If you’re looking for tree care advice in Clemmons, NC, contact Frady Tree Care Specialists today.
We offer a wide range of services, including trimming and pruning, stump grinding, tree removal, and more.
Our experts will accurately diagnose the health of your trees and identify any problems before they become serious. We also offer free estimates on any job we do so that you can get an idea of how much it will cost before we begin working on your trees.
Read our tree care tips for homeowners and call us at 704-644-2516 to schedule a consultation on how to water mature trees during drought periods.