Tips for Watering Trees

Watering your trees is crucial to keeping them healthy, especially while they’re still young. But many people don’t know much about how to properly water their trees—there is a science to it to ensure you get the best results possible. Factors that could influence your watering practices include soil type, weather patterns, and tree age, but there are some general guidelines you can follow.

Here are a few of those guidelines from a tree service in Newton, MA:

• Newly planted trees require more watering: Any time you plant a new tree in the ground, you must water it immediately to help encourage it to root in place. Then, during the first two growing seasons, you should regularly water the tree deeply. Young trees expend a lot of energy attempting to establish their roots and are going to have a hard time dealing with heat and drought. This means you must make an effort to keep the soil moist at a depth that will reach all roots, speeding up the root establishment process.
• Established trees don’t need constant care: Once the tree has rooted well and is established in its place, it won’t need quite as much watering attention. Just check the soil moisture before watering. You might need to use a trowel to dig down a few inches to see if the area is moist. The soil should not be either dry or drenched, but somewhere in between. If your tree needs to be watered, you should be able to accomplish it in 30 seconds with a steady stream of water.
• Avoid overwatering: While you do need to keep the area around your trees moist, you don’t need to overwater. Some common symptoms of overwatering include fungus growing on the surface of the soil or roots, black or dark brown roots forming (which indicates rot), yellow leaves on the lower branches, brittle green leaves and wilting young shoots.
• Mulch: Mulch is excellent for maintaining moisture and soil temperature. Plus, it helps to add a bit of aesthetic value to your tree.
• Consider the species: Different types of trees have different watering requirements. You should do plenty of research on your tree to know exactly what you need to do to ensure it grows well and remains healthy.
• Water at the right time of day: Rather than watering during the middle of the day when you’re most likely to deal with a lot of evaporation, water at night or early in the morning, when evaporation rates are at their lowest.
• Adjust based on weather: You should generally water your tree about once a week during the growing season, but the weather conditions will determine if you need to water more or less. Again, you should check the soil before you water to determine if it is truly necessary.

For more information about watering trees and the other services we provide at our tree service in Newton, MA, contact the experts at Treelex today.

Categorised in: Tree Service