Have you ever been in a situation where you just pretend things are a bit better than they actually are? Perhaps a doctorās appointment was delayed and you are really hungry because you havenāt had anything to eat for hours. When the doctor comes into the room to apologize, you, of course, say āItās ok. Iām fine.ā Perhaps after taking your dog for a walk, your knees ache a bit and your neighbor asks if you are ok. āItās ok. Iām fineā is of course the answer. As humans, we always try to put our best foot forward but donāt always let everyone know the price we pay for those actions. The plants in our yards are putting their metaphorical best feet forward with an abundance of fall color and gorgeous fall flowers. They are paying an incredibly high price though because what they are not telling us, yet, is that their roots are surrounded by dry soil.
Our area is experiencing a moderate drought. During the month of October we only received 10-25% of the average precipitation. According to NASAās Land Information System currently the soil moisture for our area is between the fifth and tenth percentiles of all historical measurements. On average our plants need 1ā of rain per week. During the entire month of October, it only rained about 1 Ā¼ inches. We need rain. Our plants need water.
When Mother Nature does not provide sufficient water for our plants, it is crucial that we provide supplemental water. We must water them. Whether they have been planted for 2 months or 20 years, plants do suffer in a drought. During a drought, homeowners may notice that plant foliage becomes limp, leaves become crisp around the edges and can fall off. Because all deciduous plants lose their leaves this time of the year, the symptoms of drought are being masked. Below ground and as a result of drought stress, roots can become weakened and perhaps die completely. Drought stress also causes plants to be more susceptible to other factors such as insects and diseases.
Unlike, strong winds or lighting strikes, a drought is a weather-related event that we can actively work to counteract. By deeply and thoroughly watering your plants now, you can protect them from current and future damage from drought stress.
Watering trees can easily be done by laying the end of the hose near the base of the tree. Allow the hose to run on a slow trickle until the ground is moist to a depth of about 6ā. To check you the moisture of your soil you can either use a small trowel, a wooden dowel or your fingers. You may also lay a soaker hose in a circle underneath the treeās canopy and again let that run until the water has soaked deep into the soil surface.
Soaker hoses may also be used to water perennial flowers and shrubs. By interlacing them through the plants and connecting two or three end to end you can water a significant amount of plants at the same time. In general, I would let the soaker hoses run for about 30 minutes and then check the moisture level of the soil. Not all plants near the soaker hose will receive the same amount of water and you may find that you have to hand water some plants.
The beautiful fall makes watering by hand a great excuse to be outside. Even hand watering your plants just two or three times before the ground freezes could make the difference between healthy, happy plants that made it through the winter or dead plants that didnāt survive.
Professionally-installed irrigation systems provide the necessary water for lawns as well as flowers, shrubs and trees. Most irrigation systems have already been winterized and are no longer functional. Just because an irrigation system has been turned off, doesnāt mean the plants donāt need to be watered. Homeowners with these systems may need to find alternate means of watering their plants.
My husband will tell you that I worry about many things that never happen. This fall I am very worried about evergreen shrubs not making it through the winter. In my 34 years in the green industry, I have experienced three winters in which thousands of evergreen shrubs died in Northern Illinois. They died because either they dried out or the temperature was too cold. Evergreen shrubs continue to go through a process of transpiration throughout the winter. Transpiration results in moisture leaving the plant through the leaves. When the ground freezes, evergreen shrubs will no longer have a way to take up any more water through their roots, yet they will continue to lose water through their leaves. If evergreen shrubs donāt go into this winter with an adequate water supply, my concern is that they will die early next year. In addition to watering evergreen shrubs this fall, homeowners may want to apply an anti-desiccant spray to their evergreens. This spray provides a waxy layer to the leaves to reduce the amount of water loss due to transpiration. The spray should be applied in November and may be reapplied in January or February. If we get a warm day in January or February, homeowners may want to water their evergreen shrubs again.
While yes, we are experiencing a drought, it is important to not overwater plants. Plants should only receive about 1ā of water per week and may only need to be watered when the soil is slightly dry.
Kathleen Carr is the owner of The Growing Scene, Inc.,a landscaping company. She can be reached by calling 815-923-7322 or emailing her at Kathleen@thegrowingscene.com. Have a gardening question? Please contact her. She may address it in an upcoming column.
