Gerry Hernandez – UC Master Gardener
The Master Gardener office has received a lot of questions this fall about trees. People are coming into the office and asking, “why are my trees dying?”.
By far the most common reason is water and heat.
Many of us have reduced our garden irrigation, thus reducing tree irrigation. With less irrigation and extreme heat, our trees have taken a big hit.
Here is what you need to do. Get a soaker hose or two. Circle the tree starting one foot from the trunk. To get the deep watering needed for trees, you will need to run the soaker hose for two hours or more, but only irrigate every two to three weeks. The water needs to penetrate two to three feet. Do this even if your tree is in the lawn area.
In a week, check the moisture again. When the moisture is less than two feet, irrigate again.
Trees are our most important garden asset. They provide shade, clean the air, provide habitat for wildlife, they are beautiful and increase your property value. Many of our trees are in lawns, and many people have reduced or eliminated watering their lawns. This means many trees will slowly decline and die. Mature trees need deep watering during the dry months to stay healthy. A large shade tree takes many years to establish.
Trees need to be the first plant we consider saving during the drought. ■