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Hoosier Gardener

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September 23, 2019 By Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp

Cracked, dry soil signals need for water

Ground is dry and cracked in the Indiana garden because of all the heat and not rain.
Cracked soil indicates the ground is very dry. This is a sign to water trees and shrubs to make sure they make it through winter. (C) Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp

Everyone I’ve talked to lately says the same thing. “We need some rain.”

Ok. We got some rain Sunday night. About one-half inch, according to my rain gauge. But the ground is still dry and plants still look fried.

What to do?

  • Water
  • Water
  • Water

Pay special attention to trees and shrubs, especially evergreens, as we go into winter. This is critical. Trees and shrubs need about 1 inch of water every week.

If you are like most of us, you wonder how do I know I’ve applied 1 inch of water? Irrigation systems should be calibrated or zoned to apply various amounts of water to lawns, shrubs, trees and garden beds.

For overhead sprinklers, here are tips to measure how much water is hitting the ground:

  • Place several empty tuna or cat food cans (or something similar) in the area to be watered.
  • Turn on the sprinkler and monitor the cans’ water depth.
  • Ideally, the 1 inch of water should be delivered all at one time, or broken into two applications – one-half inch one day and then a few days later, the other one-half inch.
  • Water trees throughout their drip zone, rather than at the base.

Other tips:

  • Ring the drip zone of a tree or shrub with hose that seeps (soaker hose) or drips water.
  • Check out more watering and measuring tips from Cornell Extension.
The Landscape Snip-n-Drip Soaker System is an easy and effective way to water trees. Photo courtesy Gardeners Supply

I’ve hand-watered shrubs, such as hydrangea, summer sweet, weigela, viburnum and others. One inch of water is roughly 5 gallons. You can water by dumping the 5 gallons all at once around the shrub. Or time how long it takes the hose to fill a 5-gallon bucket and water the shrub for that amount of time.

Time how long it takes to fill a 5-gallon bucket with water. This lets you know how long to have to water a shrub with the hose. (C) Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp

What about our wet spring?

Yes, we did have a wet spring. That caused all plants, including trees and shrubs to grow lush green growth, maybe more than normal. Now it’s been hot and dry and plants need a bit more TLC to support the growth.

Despite the wet spring, watering this time of year will help trees and shrubs, including evergreens, to make it through winter without damage.

Filed Under: Hoosier Gardener Tagged With: dry soil, water trees and shrubs in fall

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