CLEVELAND — Trees help to clean the air. They also help to provide shade this time of year.
Of course, trees are also a great way to add a little beauty outside your home and keep things inside nice and cool. But with temperatures soaring into the 90s these last few days, keeping trees healthy can be a challenge.
"Trees will show signs of drought stress when we haven’t had periods of rain," explains Tedd Bartlett from Davey Tree. "You’re going to see some curling, some dropping, even some premature fall coloring."
Bartlett says while your outdoor plants require some water on a daily basis, your trees do require way more water.
"The best thing you can do is regular watering. What you want to do is water your tree 3-5 times a week depending on the rainfall," Bartlett says. He also recommends paying attention to what's around the base of the tree and doing what he describes as "deep watering."
"Pull away some of the mulch from the base of the tree and create a well. When I say deep watering, it doesn’t mean digging out any soil away from the tree. It means applying enough water that filters into the root system deeper into the ground," he explains.
If you do notice that your tree has started to die, don't worry. There is still time for it to recover if you catch it in time.
"I've seen trees become defoliated from drought stress and they will second out a second flush of growth for the year. So the best thing is to have an arbonist come out and take a look at the tree," says Bartlett.
The best time to water your trees is in the morning before 8:00 a.m. That's generally when it's not too warm.