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Austin, Texas has soil and weather conditions that pose a bit of a
challenge to those who wish to water trees. There is little soil in this
area with a few exceptions. (Nothing about trees or soil can be
written in stone. So, I will just do what I can to get information out
there that will help.) What soil there is has so little water retention
capacity that it dries out very quickly. The rains come in short down
bursts that drench the soil beyond its capacity to hold water and
after the soil is saturated the rest of the rain is lost as runoff or
penetrates the soil where it runs off along the rock below the
surface. The trees get some water, but not enough. It is like giving a
person a sip of water when they are dying of thirst. The trees get a
good drink only when it rains for a day or more.
Trees drink water from the micro pores (small spaces) of the soil.
The very small roots called "hair roots" do the drinking and they are
found out toward the ends of the roots. The roots near the trunk are
very large, like the limbs are where they branch out from the trunk,
and get smaller and smaller as they get further from the trunk. That
is why it is said to water the trees out near the drip line, which is the
outer reaches of the limbs where the water drips from the leafs at
the extremity of the canopy. There are hair roots a little closer in and
a little further out, so we can give the trees water and nutrition in
the area just inside the drip line and just outside it. Trees are all
different and species of trees vary greatly in root structure. But you
can be fairly certain that you are water you trees when you water
under the drip line. Water applied near the trunk is mostly a waste
though there are likely to be some hair roots from adjacent trees in
that area that will benefit from the water.
The next thing to know is that roots provide water to all parts of the
tree. It is not true that a certain root only supplies a certain part of
the tree even though there is some factual understanding in the
notion that certain parts of a tree are first to receive the production
of certain roots. The affects of this are uncertain but appear to have
some influence in the survival of a certain part of a tree when lack of
water stresses a tree to death or near death. We see this when we
see a tree with one major artery alive while the rest of the tree is
soon saturate the soil. Wait a while then come back and add water
to the watering zone. A good sprinkler can do a good job once the
soil is saturated. Soaker hoses usually put too little water into the
zone, especially during our hot weather. If you put the coils of hose
an inch or two apart it might work provided the output volume is
sufficient. How will you know if you are watering enough? There is
really only one way.
There are tools that can be bought that make the job easier, but
they are all version of the same thing, unless you get into electronic
measuring devices, which actually do the same thing you can do
with your eyes. Apply water at a certain volume that you can
reproduce easily for a certain amount of time that you measure over
a given area then dig a hole in the area and see how far the water
went. If the water is not to the desired depth, keep watering until it
is. Once you do this and keep a written record, unless your memory
is astonishing, you will know how much and how long to water. After
that just keep adding water frequently enough to maintain the
proper moisture level, which means wet, and keep it wet for a day
more or less according to the conditions of the weather, the soil, and
the tree. Keep the soil very wet without allowing it to run off or run
through the soil as best you can.
If your watering area is inclined and the soil is very hard, it will run
away down the slope instead of into the ground. You can use this
sometimes. Let it run down the slope if it running in the right
direction, over roots. If the water is not penetrating the soil, break
the surface with a hand tool so it can soak into the soil. You can dig
little ditches in the first inch or two of soil to channel the water
where you want it. Don't cut any roots. You may damage the hair
roots some, but they grow back. In fact, they change out every year
like leafs do. If you do damage a root, don't worry, it will repair itself.
It is very hard to over water a tree in our area. In places where the
soil has a high clay content or where the soil is deep and rich you
could conceivably over water a tree. All you have to do to make sure
you are not over watering is to allow the soil to dry out for at least
four or five days between waterings. Soil expands when it gets wet
and contracts when it gets dry. This helps aerate the soil and insures
that the tree does not drown. Bear in mind that I am not saying
water then wait four or five days. I am saying wait four or five days
after the soil has become completely dry. Planted trees, again, are
the exception. It is most common to water only once a month if the
tree is well established and in good health