Usually we have too much rain but this year it has been pretty dry and hot recently (upper 80s). A few of my plums are dropping all their leaves already. There is no rain in the forecast for two weeks and we’ve only had .75" this month. Should I water my trees just to be safe, or will this encourage growth too late in the season? I have a few dozen cherry, peach, plums, apples, grapes and pears, etc… Here are our precipitation totals for the summer:
May → 4.54 inches
June → 6.84 inches
July → 2.5 inches
Aug → 2 inches
Sept → 0.75 inches
12" silt-loam topsoil, followed by a few feet of clay.
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I would. I am facing a similar issue in Maryland. We had a dry winter with early spring drought, which ended by May. Got dry in June, then 9" of rain in July, 5" in August…dry since the first week of September, with nothing in sight. I’m praying for a weak but wet tropical storm at this point.
We’ve had more recent rain than you, though, so moisture is still there a couple inches down.
I thought the same thing about one week of temps being close to 90 and no rain for as long as I can remember.
I had bought one of those meters than can measure moisture, pH, and light. It told me the moisture levels were normal about 6 inches into the soil. This is under a few inches of wood chip mulch. I did not water based on this finding.
Hope this helps.
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We don’t have the clay you have, so this may not apply to you, but after the trees are slowing down dramatically we water very heavily to try to help prevent dessication during the winter; winds can be hard on dormant trees that don’t have enough water stored in them.
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last rain we had was when Irma passed through…that was September 11th and we got approximately 27 inches in less than 24 hours. Since then it’s been in the mid-80’s to right around 90’s very dry…I would imagine whatever moisture left by the storm has been absorbed at this point,…typically I wouldn’t be watering either, but I’ve noticed some of the trees have dropped leaves as well…I have a moisture meter, but question the reliability, probably time to get a new one…
I would still be watering. I have never seen anything that I recall that says good ground soil moisture keeps trees from going dormant. As Mark said winter still pulls a lot of moisture our of living things no matter if they have leaves or not.
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My arborist keeps sending out missives in all-caps: WATER YOUR TREES
It is not how long since it rained, but how long has the soil been dry. If there is still moisture in the soil I wouldn’t worry about it but if it is bone dry I would water although it may not be necessary at all. Cutting off the water is one way to coax trees into dormancy early so I’m pretty sure your trees will be fine either way. Their genes have been through plenty of fall drought. I’m talking about established trees, not ones transplanted last spring.
I have seen entire orchards defoliate in late summer during extreme drought and every tree rebound vigorously the following spring.
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If the trees are young, watering them is a good idea. Especially potted.
Older established in-ground trees don’t need it, but it can’t hurt.
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Once your trees have dropped their leaves, added water will not encourage any growth as they are already dormant. I don’t know your zone, I’m in zone 3, and if the soil is at all dry in the Fall then I typically water my trees thoroughly once their leaves are down. But the ground here is frozen for 5 months of the year so the trees can’t get any moisture during that time, so I water before the freeze so that the tree roots will go into winter with an ample supply of moisture to carry them through the winter…
Water holds a lot of heat so can protect the roots of trees in extreme cold which penetrates deeper in a dry soil. Ideal is a fluffy mulch over moist soil.
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The rain has stopped here and the soil is getting dry. I plan to add water today.
We had a local expert on the radio warning people to expect tree death at the most, and winter damage at the least if you do not water your trees.
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Our local extension person, herself a pretty savvy horticulturist, say to let them dry out some as they harden off for the winter, and then water heavily to re-hydrate them for winter.
I suppose that is appropriate for the arid, windy climate we live in; it might be a lot different in coastal regions. I will say that our big maples, pushing 100 years old, as well as our semi-dwarf fruit trees, are holding up pretty well with our generous watering regimen.
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Youngsters! We have some pushing 200.
At my cottage are some trees that were giant 53 years ago when we built it, and they look about the same now. It’s hard to judge age. They are taller, tallest ones are about 120 feet. a tree trimmer measured one of mine once.(in 2009).
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