WATERTOWN, NY — The City’s Street Tree Advisory Board, Tree Watertown, is reminding residents and businesses in the City of Watertown and throughout the region to water their trees, especially newly planted younger trees, to help keep them healthy this summer.
The lack of significant rainfall, coupled with extremely hot and sunny weather conditions over the past few months is starting to stress trees throughout the community. Trees in front of our homes and in our back yards provide us all with many economic, environmental, and aesthetic benefits and it is important to keep them healthy. Adequate water is the most important thing to keep your trees growing and strong.
Listed below are a few tips/ideas to guide your watering:
ï‚· Place a garden hose underneath the tree near the trunk. Set the hose to a slow trickle and water for 20 minutes. Move the hose several times during watering to distribute the water evenly.
ï‚· Place a sprinkler underneath the tree near the trunk and water for 15-20 minutes.
ï‚· Use a five-gallon bucket and dump 4-5 buckets around the trunk of the tree.
ï‚· Water every 7 to 10 days until there is adequate rain (at least 1 inch of rain).
ï‚· Watering larger established trees is important as well. Simply let you hose or sprinkler run a little longer to make sure your tree is adequately watered.
ï‚· Using shredded bark or woodchip mulch around your tree is important as it helps to reduce evaporation and improves water absorption.
ï‚· Water is inexpensive. For approximately 25 cents per week you can do a lot of good for your tree and keep it growing strong and healthy.