Winter Watering

Today was 70 here in Denver. It was a glorious, bright, vibrant inauguration day. New beginnings in many ways. I saw the snow drops poking out of the ground and buds on the hellebores. The sun came up a little earlier, stayed up in the sky a little later.

While outside in the sun, the thought occurred to me that it was too warm for my jeans. It's January 20. My mother in Memphis said this morning that it was lightly snowing. This dichotomy got me thinking. I still have snow on the south side of the yard, the shadier side. I hope nothing besides the snowdrops think it is time to poke their heads out of the warming soil. It's too early. It's too warm. What will this do to our ever decreasing water supply?

One thing I do know is we've had a tremendous amount of wind in the last month. I missed out on the deep freeze Denver experienced, but have been here for the wind. The wind after that freeze and continuing even now will do much more harm to our precious plant life than any cold ever will. I urge you all to water, water, water on these warm, blustery days with no snow cover. Winter watering is just as important to healthy trees as summer watering.

A soaker hose is the best way to accomplish this. It should be coiled around the tree starting half way between the trunk and the drip line (the outer edge of the branches) and the same distance outside the drip line. I know this will be hard for some of you because of structures, walkways, streets and sidewalks. But do the best you can – or call me to help or install the soaker hose for you. A general rule of thumb for watering trees is 10 gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter. This is best accomplished using a slow watering method like the soaker hose. Taking a 10 gallon bucket filled with water out to the tree and dumping it really doesn't accomplish much more than creating a hole and drowning the tree roots.

Winter watering of trees is especially important for those trees newly planted. While the tree itself is dormant, the roots continue to grow and thrive. There is less stress on the tree itself if it's roots are cared for properly.

Evergreen trees are especially susceptible to the drying winds. Moisture loss through the needles is very common in Colorado. Replace that moisture loss by watering 1 to 2 times a month using a slow drip.
I hope you can take the time to care for your trees at least once a month during these dry, hard times. Our trees do so much for us by providing shade in the summer and blocking winds, some flowering in spring or summer and all glowing with color as they fade to dormancy, bursting forth with one last blaze before we forget their skeleton bodies in the winter. If you care for them in the hard times, they will be less stressed, less susceptible to bugs and blights and happier, healthier trees for many years to come.

If you have any questions concerning winter watering or any other gardening issues, please call or email me. Here's hoping your winter is less dry, with more snow and you, too, are inaugurating yourself into this new year with new hope for bigger and better things to come.