Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

rate this answer

Thursday - August 18, 2011
From: The Woodlands, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Compost and Mulch, Watering, Drought Tolerant, Trees
Title: Difficulty of watering at drip line of trees from The Woodlands TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
I'm watering my couple dozen native mature trees to make sure they survive this drought and its aftermath..and I'm reading about how to water at the drip line. But..all of my trees' drip lines extend over other trees, patios, sidewalks, neighbors' yards, houses, garages, etc. And my property is rumpled with miniature slopes and ridges that send water trickling in all sorts of directions. So should I just soak my entire yard every time I see one tree in the crowd that starts to show yellow leaves? I had been soaking the targeted trunks previously, and that seemed to have been working. What do I do?ANSWER:
So, this is our second chapter of Gardener Survival in a Texas Summer. The first chapter, also for you, is this previous Mr. Smarty Plants question.
Your specific concern this time seems to be concerning mature native trees. We have had several questions about our reference to "drip line." Since roots of large trees will ordinarily go out far beyond the drip line, if you have a lot of trees, yes, you are going to have to cover a lot of ground. Soaking the trunks with water is not what we recommend. Too much moisture on the bark of a tree can invite disease and fungi. Our suggestions to push a hose down in the soil around the tree and let the water drip slowly has to do with young, newly planted trees.
No, we don't think you should soak a yard when one tree shows yellow leaves. Those yellow leaves could be early Fall color because of our extreme drought. We realize some of your trees are under or over other trees, but all of the roots are in the ground, and it's the roots you need to be watering. There is not much you can do about roots under sidewalks, patios and so forth, and some of the roots under foundations or driveways may be causing you problems having nothing to do with where they are being watered. Roots go where they do in search of water and nutrition; if it happens to be under your house, pulling the water out by the tree could be causing settling of your foundation. We always urge people planting trees to stay well away from hardscape of any kind, especially structures.
But you probably had trees on your property, since we know the area in which you live, and you sure want to preserve them if you can. If some of the roots go into your neighbors' yard, some of theirs are probably in your yard. Be responsible neighbors and follow the watering restrictions to water the lawn, gardens and soil under which you know you have tree roots. If you have bare ground, we suggest mulching. That will hold in moisture, help cool the roots and, as it decomposes, add organic material to the soil to aid in drainage and nutrition. Do not pile the mulch up around the trunk-another opportunity for insects and mildew to move in.
More Trees Questions
Catalpa and maple with dying branches in Wisconsin
July 07, 2008 - We have a northern catalpa in our front yard. It's been there for about three years now and is probably 25' high. This year it appeared to be doing great. It flowered and then all of sudden last ...
view the full question and answer
Rash resulting from cutting trees in NC.
May 08, 2012 - My boyfriend was cutting some trees yesterday. He had thorns in his hands after he was done, and today he has a rash on his legs, a fever and he feels like throwing up. Can you tell me if its symptoms...
view the full question and answer
Problems with pin oak in Manlius, NY
June 20, 2009 - I bought a pin oak when it was ~5 ft tall. It has lived in clay/rock for the last 6 years--healthy, but didn't grow much (no surprise). This spring we planted 3 small boxwoods a few feet from its t...
view the full question and answer
Replacement for maple tree lost in Hurricane Sandy from Hauppauge NY
March 17, 2013 - Lost a Maple street tree in Hurricane Sandy, was forty-eight years old. Town will not replace the tree. Must do it on my own. What would you suggest? Nothing that grows too tall.
view the full question and answer
Bracket fungus on live oaks
October 04, 2007 - I live in Cedar Park and the house we just bought has 4 native live oaks growing in the front yard. On two of the live oaks there are bracket fungi growing at their base. Each tree just produced two n...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |