Category Archives: Trees

Photo by Jon Hayes Photography.

This isn’t the first time GM has bugged you about it, and it certainly won’t be the last, but despite the cooler weather you still need to keep watering your street trees. The watering season doesn’t end until the end of September, so keep it up.

GM will note that Casey Trees considers this week to be “normal” which means watering is actually optional this week. So don’t worry if you forget, but it can’t hurt to keep tree-watering in your routine in case conditions turn drier later this month. Continue reading →

Photo by Jon Hayes Photography.

It’s that time of year again when GM harangues you about caring for our precious street trees. So here is goes:

Water your street trees!

If you have a young tree on the sidewalk in front of your house or apartment, please, please make sure it gets watered all summer long. The basic goal you should have is to water young trees at least once a week, so long as you get a good 20-25 gallons of water.

If you have a gator (the green bags, which aren’t preferred anymore since they can hurt the bark if they’re not taken off when not in use) or the ooze tube (the brown bags, which are preferred now since you can leave them on without harming the tree) you should just fill it up and let it run. Continue reading →

Photo by Jon Hayes Photography.

In these dog days of summer, the need to keep our street trees watered is great. While we’ve had a couple strong rain systems roll through the area over the past couple days, they are the normal summer type of storm where the rain comes fast and hard. This is a great way to take the edge off the heat, but it’s not a great way to keep the trees watered since the rain comes so hard that most of it simply washed down the drain.

So even with the occasional summer afternoon squall, we still need to regularly water our street trees, at least the young ones. Casey Trees issues guidance called “25 to Stay Alive”, which GM links to up on the right. That guidance is as follows:

Trees are living things and need water to survive. 25 to Stay Alive is an easy way to remember that trees require 25 gallons of water – approximately 1.5 inches of rainfall – per week to stay healthy.

Apply water slowly. This prevents wasteful runoff and allows for the soil and roots to absorb the water.

Watering trees is easy. To make watering even easier, use one of the following techniques:

• Turn on a hose on low for a 1/2 hour at the base of the tree.
• Place a 5-gallon bucket with holes in the bottom at the base of your tree.  Fill the bucket up five days a week.
• Add a 25-gallon slow release watering bag (such as an Ooze Tube or Gator Bag) to the base of your tree.  Fill it up just once a week. Continue reading →

Watering boy by Jon Hayes Photography.

With the onset of summer weather, GM thought it wise to reprint the “Dos” and “Don’ts” of tree care that he ran last year. So without further ado, all the things you ought to do to keep our street trees alive:

Do #1 – Water, Water, Water

There is one thing that trees, particularly young ones, need above all else: water. Yes, we’ve had a pretty rainy spring, but our summers can be brutal on trees. We can go weeks without a significant rainfall. And even when we get those typical summer flash storms, most of the water runs straight to the storm drains and fails to reach the trees.

That’s why it’s incumbent on us to keep our trees fully watered. The basic goal you should have is to water young trees at least once a week, so long as you get a good 20-25 gallons of water. You should start when the trees start leafing in the spring and continue all the way until they lose their leaves in the fall. Continue reading →