As Weeks of Dangerous Heat Persist Statewide, Texas Trees Foundation Urges Homeowners & Business Owners to Start Watering Trees Immediately
Jul 19, 2022
DALLAS - July 19, 2022 - (Newswire.com)
With 75.7% of the state of Texas in a severe drought, and heat index values in Dallas at 105°F or higher, common questions the Texas Trees Foundation hears include "How much do I need to water my new and existing trees?" and "How should I care for my tree during a drought?"
Irrigation of trees during drought
During drought and water restrictions, trees should be given priority over other landscape plants, including lawns. A turfgrass lawn left unwatered will naturally go dormant for the season and turn brown but may turn green again after a rainfall or when irrigation is reintroduced. Even if reseeding or resodding is necessary, a lawn can often be re-established in a single season - a large tree cannot. Most importantly, during a drought, the goal of irrigation should be sustaining the tree, not watering for maximum growth.
Instead of watering established trees at the trunk, irrigate from the dripline (edge of tree's branches) outward. Apply water in a circular band at least half as wide as distance from trunk to dripline.
Trees should be watered slowly and deeply. Spray irrigation (sprinklers) are great for lawns but not trees. Instead, use a bubbler, multiple drip emitter, or hand-held hose to deliver water to the tree's root zone. Water soil one to two feet deep each time. The simplest method of watering is to use a garden hose on a slow trickle and leave it in different zones within the dripline until you can easily insert a screwdriver into the soil. Deep watering encourages deep rooting; deep roots are best for a tree to survive drought. Irrigate established trees once every two weeks during growing season.
"Please follow any water use restrictions in your area when watering your trees," says TTF's Urban Forester Rachel McGregor. "Trees provide an enormous asset to our landscape by reducing heating and cooling cost in our homes, cleaning the air we breathe, increasing mental and physical health, decreasing storm water runoff, and many other benefits."
Summer watering tips during drought:
- Water in the morning or evening from 7 p.m. - 8 a.m.
- Avoid watering during the hottest part of the day, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., as more water will get lost in evaporation.
- Many plants, including turf grass, compete within the soil root zone for available water. Water competition can be severe. Remove grass and excess plant competition from around any tree to decrease water stress.
- Use mulch to conserve water and prevent weed competition. Besides minimizing evaporation of soil moisture and limiting rainwater runoff, mulch protects the tree from mower and weed trimmer damage. Wood chips and shredded bark can be used for mulch. Cover the area about 2 to 3 inches deep; avoid the area next to the tree's trunk.
- Do not fertilize or prune during summer months. Fertilizers promote growth that the tree cannot sustain under unfavorable conditions and pruning off photosynthetic material (leaves) takes food away from an already stressed tree. Only remove dead or hazardous branches.
What is urban heat?
Urban centers across the state exhibit higher temperatures than the surrounding countryside.
Read more on urban heat: https://bit.ly/3ayGWa.
Resource link: https://bit.ly/3ayGWaj
Media Contact: Kristy Offenburger, (469) 859-1979, [email protected]
Press Release Service by Newswire.com
Original Source: As Weeks of Dangerous Heat Persist Statewide, Texas Trees Foundation Urges Homeowners & Business Owners to Start Watering Trees Immediately
More News
A covert tape, political feuds and toxic soil: Eight-year defamation battle reaches end
Perth property developer Greg Poland claimed he was defamed following the publication of two stories, based on a covert recording sent to journalists by federal Liberal MP Andrew Hastie.
U.S. Government Takes a Cut of Chip Business in Japan-Funded Deal
President Trump’s novel deal-making is on display in upstate New York, where the administration is funneling Japanese funds into a government-owned chip factory.
Rocket debris hitting US homeland is ‘embarrassing’ for China, says astronomer
A scorched hunk of metal that turned up in a US farmer’s cornfield may have handed China an awkward moment and technically an “international incident”, according to a British astronomer who has tracked rocket launches for more than 30 years. The farmer found the bowl-shaped object, measuring about 3.35 metres (11 feet) across, while harvesting corn in west-central Minnesota on October 14. Online, some residents joked that aliens had landed, while Chinese internet users said it looked like a...
AI concerns continue to hit Big Tech stocks Friday as oil prices rise again
Stocks are opening lower Friday on Wall Street as Big Tech companies tied to artificial intelligence swing lower again and oil prices rise.
China warns against space arms race, urges equal rights for all in outer space
China has unveiled a position paper on outer space governance, prioritising the prevention of space weaponisation while calling for a global framework to protect all nations’ legitimate rights beyond Earth. Addressing the inaugural Global Governance Forum near Beijing on Friday evening, Foreign Minister Wang Yi framed the document as one of eight key actions under Beijing’s Global Governance Initiative (GGI) – an overarching vision introduced by President Xi Jinping in September last year. “We...
‘Opportunistic’: experts weigh Manila’s minilateral agenda ahead of Trump-Xi meeting
The Philippines’ dual push for stronger “minilateral” defence links and a more robust Asean security role is dividing analysts, with one calling the move “opportunistic”. Some experts view Manila’s advocacy for the “Squad” alliance as a strategic opportunity to deepen core security partnerships while chairing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Others question how much actual weight is carried by this informal defence grouping – comprising the United States, the Philippines, Japan and...
URA tells owners to avoid hiring lift company at centre of fire safety probe
Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Authority has advised property owners under a subsidy scheme against hiring a contractor that failed to install fire safety components in lifts at hundreds of buildings, saying it had “lost confidence” in the company. The move came a day after the government suspended the performance rating for Taizoom Elevator, which was found to have failed to install required fire-resistant door frame components at 338 buildings as inspections of its work across the city are carried...
U.S. claims of Canadian political interference have ‘no merit,’ Carney says
Prime Minister Mark Carney says there is "no merit" to American claims that Canadians might be interfering in U.S. politics ahead of November's midterm elections.
Hong Kong Legco to review tighter rules on access to land records amid concerns
Hong Kong’s legislature will set up a subcommittee to examine proposed restrictions on access to land records following widespread public concern. At a Legislative Council House Committee meeting on Friday, lawmakers endorsed establishing the subcommittee to study proposed requirements and procedures under the Land Titles Regulation. The move came after some legislators and the Hong Kong Journalists Association voiced objections on Wednesday after the government tabled eight pieces of subsidiary...
Europe considers new quotas and tariffs to stem Chinese imports
The European Union may hit more Chinese industries with quotas or tariffs before further negotiations with Beijing, the bloc’s trade chief said on Friday, naming plastics as a sector in which investigations are advanced. Maros Sefcovic said that when the bloc needs to move quickly to protect its industries, it will consider safeguards, which allow emergency measures to curb surges in imports, instead of engaging in longer negotiations. “We clearly will have to put it in order, prioritise, and...
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang brings ‘sovereign AI’ push to Kazakhstan, shrugs off bubble fears
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is pitching the concept of “sovereign AI” in Kazakhstan – part of his global crusade urging nations to build domestic computing infrastructure using the firm’s chips – as the energy-rich nation emerges as a US-China battleground for artificial intelligence. Speaking at a fireside chat in Astana on Friday with Kazakh AI and digital development minister Zhaslan Madiyev, Huang said AI was reshaping every industry in a transformation that “affects every single person and...
Test your general knowledge with the Good Weekend quiz
Trivia buffs: can you get a perfect score in the interactive superquiz?
YOUR NEWS, OUR NETWORK.
Do you have Great News you want to tell the world?
Be it updates about your business or your community, you can make sure that it’s heard by submitting your story to our network reaching hundreds of news sites across 6 verticals.