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| One of my local nurseries is big on winter watering, especially for newer trees, advocating a thorough watering about once a month. I am dubious about how much water gets down through the frozen soil and how much good it does. I wonder if it is doing harm having more frozen water surrounding the base of the tree. No matter how nice the day, it still freezes at nights. Any opinions? I had one tree die last year, a weeping cherry, and wonder if this could be partially to blame. John |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sat, Dec 8, 12 at 12:21
| are we talking soil that is frozen for months during the winter ... like in z5 MI??? IMHO ... a tree.. in frozen ground .. is in suspended animation .. and does NOT need water .. and you have a greater risk of freezing the roots into an ice cube that doesnt allow air movement ... than the benefit of a little extra water ... there are a myriad of variables ... that would need to be addressed.. to get to the root of the issue [see what i did there.. lol] ... such as clay/sand .. how deep of a freeze.. what kind of tree.. constant snow cover ... drainage both in normal soil.. and frozen soil .... etc.. ad nauseum ... add winter winds also ... but one thing for sure.. if this nursery holds the warranty.. you do what they tell.. to the letter ... ken ps: if there is drainage after watering.. then i would suspect that the soil freezing later that night.. is not important ... its a drainage issue.. not the water ... jsut like it always is with trees ... |
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| John, I'm north of Denver and we are at 9-10" of precip for the year, about 3-4 inches below normal and until this weekend, running 20 degrees above normal temps. We are in extreme drought. The nursery is giving you good advice. The key here is to send your trees, especially new plantings into cold temps moist and to water about once a month if there isn't snow cover. You want to water early in the day so the water can absorb before it freezes at night. On warm days, get your fingers into the soil around the rootballs to check for moisture. if it feels dry, water. In Colorado, you need to wrap thin skinned trees like cherries to avoid sunscald and trunk splitting. I wrap my apple, honeylocust and oaks at about Thanksgiving time and keep the wraps on until about Easter. I do this for the first 3 years or so until the trees are established. It's tricky here to get trees established with our altitude, intense sun and lack of moisture. Hope this helps. Barb |
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| The quick answer is that you don't water plants when the ground is frozen. Furthermore you can promote winter rot if the soil is too wet. Moisture can be maintained upwards of a month with high temps in the 40s depending on drainage, exposure and soil type. If you watered your weeping cherry in winter its likely why it died. They like well drain soil and sensitive to overly moist soils. I'll just throw a number out there...1,000. That about how many plants I planted in 7 years. I've never watered Nov through April during those years. This year is the first I had to water in Nov (sustained drought) though to ensure my evergreens had good moisture before the soil freezes. Lastly keep in mind that decidious trees are no longer supporting foilage and their water needs are dramatically decreased. If you have damp soil (not wet) thats all you need to concern yourself with. |
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| I'd follow Barb's advice. Colorado is very different from Michigan. |
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- Posted by strobiculate none (My Page) on Sun, Dec 9, 12 at 20:41
| of all the factors affecting winter survival, perhaps the one over which you have the most control is availability of water through the late fall into winter. through my life i have moved from central midwest (minnesota) to the east (ny/ct). and i went to college in the horticultural paradise that is north dakota. as you move east, you forget exactly how dry the states west of the mississippi are. when in doubt, test the hypothesis if you can. otherwise i'd take the advise of the locals. and that's coming from someone who plants....yeah, i can't count that high. |
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- Posted by formandfoliage 9b (Sunset zone 15) (My Page) on Sun, Dec 9, 12 at 22:42
| You might also want to post this on the Rocky Mountain Forum, although Barb's advice rings true...people tend to forget that when it freezes, the water in the soil turns to ice, making it unavailable to roots. We have a completely different climate here, and it rarely freezes, but when a real freeze is forecast, the first thing that we all do is water, as more plants are lost to desiccation in our freezes than to cold. Good luck! |
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