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| Hi all. The back 30 or 40' of my property is wooded, mature trees. The soil is dry dry dry. I'm concerned about problems a year or two down the road if I don't get moisture to them now. No rain for awhile, none in the forecast, temps hovering close to 100. How do you handle a situation like this??
Many thanks, Rosie, Sugar Hill, GA |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| The mature trees do not need irrigating. They are fine. If you had young trees that you have planted in the last year or so they would need the irrigation. |
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| Actually, if you are in the more severe drought areas, it would benefit them greatly to give them a deep watering if it's not going to cause you major issue. I know much of Georgia is in "extreme" or "exceptional" drought category. While you trees may in fact survive this year, they may in fact succumb a couple years down the road. Many tree localy that survived the worst drought and heat in 30+ years last year, are began succumbing before spring of this year. Now we have another drought and heat upon us, and trees are beginning to drop out in significant numbers. Read the link below. Talks about how an indigenous fungus will take out Oaks for years after a drought. So in short, I would water deeply if I could. Arktrees |
Here is a link that might be useful: Hypoxylon
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- Posted by rosiew 8 GA (rosemarywalsh@bellsouth.net) on Sat, Jun 30, 12 at 8:47
| arktrees, have been irrigating since about 5:30 this morning. Can probably continue for another hour, then will resume either tonight, if it cools down enough, or in the morning. Found that my area is rated severe/extreme drought. Will reread your link about the fungus Hypoxylon. Scary stuff. After I've gotten moisture down into the soil think I'll get out my Ross Root Feeder to be able to irrigate deeper. Very labor intensive, but not hard labor, and think it will help. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sat, Jun 30, 12 at 8:54
| i do not recommend fertilizing stressed trees ... they need water .. what is the basis for jumping to thinking they need food??? ken |
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- Posted by ilovemytrees 6a Western NY (My Page) on Sat, Jun 30, 12 at 9:08
| There's a difference between mature trees merely surviving and thriving. All trees could use a drink in the middle of a heatwave if there's no rain in the forecast. |
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- Posted by alexander3 6 (My Page) on Sat, Jun 30, 12 at 9:20
| Ken, I think she means she will use the Ross Root Feeder device to get water deep into the soil, but not actually using fertilizer, just water. rosiew, can you clarify? |
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| Ken, you are correct in that fertilization during heat and drought stress would not be appropriate. But that root feeder implement is great for getting water deeper into the soil, as suggested by alexander. Don't insert it any deeper than about eight inches. I bought my ross root feeder about twenty years ago and have never used it for fertilization. Oxygenated water, alone, is hugely beneficial for plants of all kinds, not just trees. |
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- Posted by rosiew 8 GA (rosemarywalsh@bellsouth.net) on Sat, Jun 30, 12 at 11:56
| i do not recommend fertilizing stressed trees ... they need water .. what is the basis for jumping to thinking they need food??? Clarifying. Alexander, you are correct. Ken, you jumped to a conclusion. rhizo, I've had mine at least 20 years and foolishly forget about it. Will follow your recommendation if no more than 8". Hey, could do this almost any time I can bear to be out there - no moisture lost to evaporation with the root feeder. Question: considering that this is a largish area, what sort of spacing should I use for root feeding. And how long per insertion? If anyone can supply that info, it will be appreciated. Appreciate y'all's help!!! Rosie |
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| Rosie, Glad to be of help for you. Remember a couple things while watering. You don't have to do it all at once. While certainly you don't want to run a sprinkler for 5 minutes a day for a given location. It is ok to put it in a location and leave it running on a timer for 2, 3, or 4 hours, and them move it to the next location the next day. Also a cheap rain gauge can be useful to determine how much you have really water. Lastly, remember you are giving a helping hand, and can not do as well as a good thunderstorm. As for the injector, much will depend upon soil. I have no personal experience with those, so hopefully rhizo can provide you with useful information there. Good luck. |
Here is a link that might be useful: How much rain to end your drought.
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| Though we don't do much extra watering at all NORMALLY, we've sure been giving our walking sprinkler a work-out over the past few days. We set up its path for the evening, turn on the water, and forget about it while it slowly moves its way down the hose. It throws about a 20-25 foot swath of water when the wands are directed low to the ground (which is what we do). We've been concentrating on the trees....this heat (106 yesterday) is deadly without a drop of rain for weeks. |
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