You can almost hear our plants slurping it up! But is it enough to restore our lawns and help our drought stressed trees, shrubs and other established plantings? The bottom line is no, however…
Just days before our recent rainfall the University of Minnesota Extension warned homeowners about pruning their trees. Our mature trees are often forgotten in our quest to quench the thirst of our lawns and perennial gardens. But they suffer too…
This maple is showing signs of drought stress with overproducing seeds, leaf drop and early leaf color
Our expert, Sean, held a Facebook live event “Caring for drought stressed trees” and shared that, while this rain is a huge help, it’s not enough that homeowners can just say “okay we’re all good now”.
Our moisture levels have been below normal since November 2020. It’s now late August 2021 and we are just now seeing rainfall we “normally” see in Spring. So, that means that some of the rain that fell initially was more like runoff as the ground wasn’t prepared to accept that much that fast. It is NOW soaking up that rainfall, but we still need to be watering. Especially newly planted trees and shrubs (those planted within the last 3 years) and perennials planted within the last couple of years.
Sean says water newly planted trees and shrubs every other day this year (2021). The amount will vary with the size of plant your purchased. A rule of thumb for NEWLY planted trees is to set up a trickle hose for about 20 minutes around the base of the trunk.
Crabapple ‘Firebird’ planted in 2020 – this one has been kept watered around the base
For established trees, use a sprinkler to cover from the drip line or canopy of the tree outward. Imagine rain falling and dripping from the outermost leaves, that’s your dripline! Water every 3rd or 4th day unless we’ve had rain. Then water accordingly and water till the ground freezes – generally November or even later, depending on our weather.
The dripline of this Red Maple extends at least 7 ft. out from the trunk – that’s where you water
Rule of thumb to keep a dormant lawn alive is a quarter inch of water a week. You are simply keeping the crown of the plant alive.
Our perennials also need some care. Those newly planted in particular!
This little hummelo was planted in a butterfly garden. You can see the soil is dry as a bone!
So dry…
So what do you do? Aside from watering, MULCH, MULCH, MULCH…
Mulched butterfly garden with hummelos on the right.
Mulched cotoneaster – notice mulch does NOT butt up next to the trunk/stem of the shrub
The mulch is beneficial in so many ways but in this case it’s essential to retain moisture. The bottom line is to remember that our plants, even those established plantings, have gone through some tough stuff with this drought and that means they need some TLC. Click on those links and learn more from our experts. Of course, they are always available to answer your questions. Come on into the store and talk to them!
Slake your thirst,
