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 Summer Issue 2023 Vol. 10, Issue 3
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Are Your Trees Desperate for a Drink?
Watch for signs and symptoms of drought:
- Wilting – leaves will droop especially during the day.
- Yellowing leaves
- Curling leaves
- Defoliating trees
- Cracking bark.
Damage from heat and drought is progressive and cumulative from summer to summer. If your trees did not get sufficient water last summer, they are in even more jeopardy this year. According to Rosie Lerner, “Keep in mind that next year’s growth will be determined by buds that form this summer and early fall. So the damage inflicted by drought now may affect next season.” (Indiana Yard and Garden, June 26, 2012) Further, hydration now minimizes winter injury.
The amount and frequency of rainfall received during the growing season is of greater significance than the total amount of precipitation each year. Healthy tree growth requires 1” of rain per week. You can check with a rain gauge, available at most hardware and garden stores. Short summer showers do not guarantee root hydration!
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Watering Trees
Young trees are especially vulnerable in the warmer and drier summers we are having lately. The City of West Lafayette, the WL Tree Friends, and the trees themselves need your help! The soil dries out quickly in hot, dry weather, but during the first 3-5 years of a tree’s life, it is critical for them to receive 10-15 gallons of water a week. It is also important to allow water to slowly fill the root area, rather than quickly releasing the water. Most tree roots are located near the trunk and grow in the top 12 to 18 inches of soil. Using 3-5” inches of mulch will help conserve water. (Be sure to leave a “donut hole” around the tree’s trunk.)
Here are some watering techniques you can use to get water to the tree roots:
Tree Watering Bags
Tree watering bags can be found at most home improvement stores or online. These bags are designed to slowly release water, allowing the water to soak the root zone of young trees. Refill once a week unless the area received 1” of rain in the last week.
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The Bucket Method
Take a 5-gallon bucket and drill a small 1/8” hole in the bottom and place the bucket near the trunk. Fill the bucket with water. The small hole at the bottom of the bucket will allow the water to slowly soak the ground underneath, like a tree watering bag.
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Soaker Hose or Garden Hose
Garden soaker hoses are designed so water will trickle out at a slow rate, which allows the ground underneath to soak with water. If you use a regular garden hose, make sure the water is flowing at a slow trickle.
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HELP! Please help save the street trees (trees planted between the street and the sidewalk) in your neighborhood. Give them a drink, too!
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Have You Done This Lately?
- Appreciated the shade of a West Lafayette street tree on a hot day?
- Breathed cleaner air because of less pollution from traffic?
- Enjoyed street trees that have been carefully pruned?
The West Lafayette Tree Friends helps the city keep the urban tree canopy vibrant and growing through volunteer work with pruning and by providing funds for the purchase and care of city street trees.
Please donate and become a part of this worthwhile effort by clicking below!
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Explore the World of Trees
Text by Monica Russo; photographs by Kevin Byron (Chicago Review Press)
Treecology: 30 Activities and Observations for Exploring the World of Trees and Forests (2016)
For readers 7 and up
Parents and teachers looking for activities to help readers engage in hands-on learning about trees and the forest will find an engaging array of projects, activities, games, and information packed into this book’s 114 pages. Sections introduce readers to trees, families of trees, nuts, the wildlife that live on trees, conservation, and things to listen and look for on walks in the woods. Filled with informative photographs and illustrations, a glossary of terms, resources, and a teacher’s guide, this comprehensive introduction to trees and woodlands won the 2017 Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12. Copies are available in the West Lafayette and Tippecanoe County libraries, but you may want your own copy to keep dipping into.
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Featured Tree
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Upcoming Events
West Lafayette Tree Friends Meetings
Everyone is welcome! Meetings are held the second Tuesday of every month at noon in Margerum City Hall. Check out the City's public meeting calendar or contact Bryce Patz, Community Forestry and Greenspace Planner for more information at bpatz@westlafayette.in.gov!
- Tuesday, August 8, 2023
- Tuesday, September 12, 2023
- Tuesday, October 10, 2023
National Parks and Recreation Month Celebration
A WL Parks and Recreation Department celebration of National Parks and Recreation Month will be held during the Wednesday, July 26, Farmers Market. The WL Tree Friends will have a booth – come say hello and learn more about our work in the community. The event is from 3:30 to 7:00 at Cumberland Park.
Fall Pruning Schedule
This is a favorite activity of many Tree Friends. We offer free training and use of tools – and there are other kinds of jobs, as well. We meet on Friday mornings starting September 8 from 9:00 – 11:00. Click HERE to get to the WL Tree Friends website for more information.
Farmers Market
The WL Tree Friends will have a booth at the Wednesday, September 27, Farmers Market. We will have Information for adults and activities for children, as well as opportunities to chat about trees. The Farmers Market is from 3:30 to 7:00 at Cumberland Park.
Hold the Date! – Fall Lillich Lecture
On Wednesday, November 15, WL Tree Friends is offering another in the annual Lillich Lecture series. More information about the Lecture and about registering will be available in the October Urban Leaves newsletter.
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In Closing...
"In their quiet way, trees connect us to the sky. A tree is a living bridge between Earth and Heaven, a link from the past, through the present, to the generation to come."
Nanci Forney - Vice Chair, West Lafayette Tree Friends
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Finally, a favor to ask. If you like this newsletter we send you, would you forward it to a few friends who perhaps don’t know about it? They can sign up to receive it themselves
right here. Thanks.
Find previous issues of Urban Leaves here.
Show your appreciation for someone with a Tribute Tree, and make a contribution to the health and beauty of West Lafayette. For more information
West Lafayette Tree Friends
222 N Chauncey Ave
West Lafayette, IN 47906
website / email us
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