No doubt about it…summer is here and so is the hot dry weather!  And depending on the rainfall in your area, that means sprinkler time and watering your lawn and foundation plants.  But what about the larger trees and evergreens in the yard?  They’re big and mature with lot’s of deep roots…they don’t need watering in the summer, right?  Wrong!

Larger trees in the yard need supplemental waterings during dry periods just as much as the lawn and the foundation plantings.  As a matter of fact, when it comes to down to a push and shove on who gets the water first, it should be these guys, who are basically irreplaceable. 

Contrary to what most folks think, larger trees roots do not go way down into the ground.  There are no tap roots here, and the majority of this trees root system can be found in the top 30 inches of the soil.  So when the soil dries out, they too become just as susceptible to drought as the smaller plantings.

The best way for homeowners to water their larger trees is by using a Ross Root Feeder.  This tool was originally designed for fertilizing trees with a water soluble fertilizer injected into the soil, but also makes the perfect tool for injecting plain old water into the root system.

Attach your Ross Root Feeder to the garden hose, turn on the water, and insert the tool into the soil about 15-18 inches deep.  Let it soak there for about 20-30 minutes, then move it about 15 feet and insert into the soil again.  Keep doing this, working away from the trunk of the tree in a spiraling pattern, to the drip line or tips of the branches. 

As a general rule, plants would like 1 inch of rainfall every 10 days or so during the summer, and if you don’t get it naturally, you need to supplement.  For larger trees like these, if you water like we just showed you once every 3-4 weeks, that will get these larger plants through a drought period in good shape.  Remember, you can replace the lawn and foundation plants, but you can’t replace a mature tree like this.