Winter Watering for Your Trees

Mark Mortensen, ISA Certified Arborist, RM-1002A

There seems to be questions about winter watering for your trees.

Some people hire a company to do this for them.  I feel this is an unnecessary expense.

Some people will use a probe type “root feeder.”  A very common mistake with this method is inserting the probe too deep in the soil.  Most of the trees feeder roots will be in the top 6-8 inches of the soil.

My suggestion is to water the entire landscape once a month with a lawn sprinkler.  Water the lawn, all the shrubs and flower gardens and everything, including the trees, will benefit.  Water deep, getting the moisture down 6 – 8 inches.  This can be checked using a soil probe or even an old screw driver.

I even recommend watering rock beds and flagstone.  Water everywhere the tree roots may be.  The roots will be going out 2-3 times out further than the tree is tall.

Most insect and disease problems occur from environmental stress.  Providing moisture during the winter will greatly aid in having a healthy landscape.

Of course, if we have a blanket of snow all this is unnecessary.   But the snow here in the Denver metro area doesn’t last forever.