Hot, Dry Weather: Tree Check Reminder!

I know life is busy, so here's a reminder to head outside and spend a few minutes of quality time with your new trees! Check the moisture level in the soil to see if they need some water.
Here's the quick version:

• Dig down a few inches into the root ball.
• If the soil is wet, head back inside for a cool drink of your own.
• If the soil is only damp, or getting dry, give the tree a long, slow drink instead.

The longer, more detailed version is at your fingertips on our landscape tips page.
You can also check our our moisture monitoring tutorial if you'd like to learn more about it. (This one's a downloadable pdf file)

A few things to remember about transplanted trees and water:

• A tree can be considered "new" for the first three years, or even four, after it's planted
• Rain is usually insufficient for transplanted trees, so be sure to check on them even if it's rained.
• Mulch is important for helping a tree to settle in to its new home.
• Keeping the soil completely saturated all the time can suffocate roots or cause disease.

Don't forget about newly planted trees and shrubs

You know, there are times I'd like to make a point about a topic, but somebody else already did - and better than I could! In last week's MSU Landscape Alert, Associate Professor Bert Cregg advised us to remember our newly planted trees and shrubs. Here's how he begins:

"Buying and planting new trees and shrubs is an exciting and time-honored rite of spring. But it’s important to remember your trees and shrubs AFTER you’ve gotten them in the ground. The first two years after planting are critical to the long-term survival of most woody ornaments, especially the first year. New trees and shrubs, whether container-grown or balled-in-burlap, need time for their roots to grow into surrounding soil in order to survive the transpiration water loss associated with summer temperatures in the 80’s and 90’s."

Rather than reinventing the wheel, I'll just link to his article. It expresses a lot of the tree care advice that we use at Trim Pines, such as infrequent, deep watering and using organic mulches. And check out Dr. Cregg's comment above, about the first two years. It's a wonderful thing! We like to go one further, and consider a tree "new" for the first three years.

It's going to be extra hot all week long! Forecasts indicate that we'll be having temperatures in the mid to upper 80's through Friday. We've paused in transplanting, and want to recommend some care tips for the week.

Last week's rain may not have watered your trees sufficiently. And, trees get wilty when it's hot and sunny, just like we do, so they'll need your help to push a large amount of water up through the leaves. Step outside today and check the soil, to see if it's wet. If not, give them a good soaking so they have a lot of moisture in the root ball. And it wouldn't hurt to check again in a day or two, to see how much they're using. The photo at left shows a handful of soil where a tree would need to be soaked well for this week.

Second, if you haven't got mulch on top of the root systems yet, do it now. Mulch will help keep that moisture from evaporating, so the tree can use it better.

Third, while you're watering is a great time for an application of Root Stimulator. Let's help those roots grow so they can use the moisture in the surrounding soil.