Summer Tree Care Tips The single most important aspect of summer tree care will be ensuring that your trees are receiving ample moisture. With young newly planted trees it is best to deep water once to twice a week as they have not established a large root system and are incapable of surviving the summer months without supplemental irrigation. The City has been busy planting many drought tolerant trees in parkways and planting easements and they need your help to survive the first few summers. To avoid wasting water, the City has constructed planting berms around all newly planted trees. Simply fill these tree wells with water several times once or twice a week. Within two years after planting drought tolerant trees they will survive on less water. During cool over-cast weather water requirements are reduced. For the majority of older, established trees a good deep soaking once a month will usually suffice, although there are exceptions to this rule. Our native Oak trees have evolved in response to our hot dry summers and go dormant as it warms up. Irrigating during the dormant period can be detrimental as the moisture encourages the development of oak root fungus. On the other hand trees that are indigenous to cool, wet climates may require weekly irrigation during dry weather. Fruit trees will also benefit by weekly irrigation during the summer. A drought stressed tree will first show signs of stress in its leaves. They will become dull and then begin to curl at the edges prior to wilting. Many trees will drop leaves in response to the summer heat. This is a natural process and nothing to be concerned with. Once a tree becomes drought stressed it is weakened and becomes more susceptible to attack by insects and disease. The tree will be better equipped to fend of attack if it is given ample moisture. Even as it begins to cool down in the fall it is still very important to continue irrigating as the winds deplete all plant life of moisture. The best time to water is in the early morning hours so that the moisture does not evaporate. Summer pruning requirements are minimal for most trees. The exceptions are the summer flowering trees which should be pruned after flowering. This will ensure maximum production of flowers the following year. Oak trees should only be pruned during the summer dormancy period. Minimal pruning is recommended for Oaks, particularly older trees which have a limited capacity to heal over large pruning cuts. It is best to plant trees when it cools down in the fall. During the heat of the summer one may begin to plan for the autumn planting season. It is a good idea to pay attention to the areas of the home which would benefit by shade trees. Cooling costs may be substantially reduced by the strategic planting of shade trees on the west and south facing sides of our homes. Deciduous trees, those that lose their leaves in the fall give the added bonus of allowing sunlight in to warm our homes in the winter.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 14:53:07 +0000
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