Expert tips to keep trees healthy and prevent wilting in summer heat
An expert is offering tips on how to keep your trees from wilting away in the summer heat wave.
Kevin Sproule, with Davey Tree Edmonton, says long periods of heat or drought is bad for your trees and can affect canopy growth where leaves may not fully grow, turn yellow prematurely, have scorched edges or die off.
Tree leaves turning yellow prematurely
According to Davey Tree Edmonton, tree leaves turning yellow prematurely is a warning sign during hot weather. (Sean McClune/CTV News Edmonton).
He added another warning sign is 'cupping' of the leaves, which is when the leaves start to curl upwards and form a cup shape.
'High heat and humidity, or lack of humidity, can affect the moisture levels essentially of the soil that the tree is growing in, so the tree doesn't have the available moisture that it would in ideal situations to transport nutrients to the tree,' Sproule said in an interview with CTV News Edmonton on Friday.
'If you have a week without any water and it's really, really hot – you want to water.'
He explained that in extended dry conditions, the pores of the leaves can close and 'reduce the photosynthesis from the leaves.'
According to Davey Tree Edmonton, tips for combatting heat stress on trees include:
watering
fertilizing;
having a good mulch layer; and
pruning.
Sproule advises giving the soil around your trees a 'good soaking' once or twice a week instead of daily. He said a trick is to place an empty soup can near the tree to measure the amount of water it receives.
Edmonton tree
Davey Tree Edmonton recommends watering trees once or twice a week, making sure the soil is soaked near the tree, during extended hot weather. (Sean McClune/CTV News Edmonton)
Two inches of water in the can tells you the tree has received enough water from the sprinkler or hose, according to Sproule.
He added that the best time of the day to water is in the early morning around dawn and before sunrise.
'If you water in the heat of the day, in the middle of the day, most of the water is just going to evaporate and you're just going to waste your water,' he said, adding that overwatering can lead to fungal growth which can have negative effects on your tree health.
'Keeping your trees healthy overall is always the best plan for them to help deal with any kind of heat stress or heat exhaustion for the tree.'
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Sean McClune
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