Heat wave! Who needs a drink?

When a heat wave sets in sometimes the last thing you want to do is go out and water but your plants might be thirsty. Although trees and shrubs usually get all the water they need from rainfall sometimes they just might need a little extra drink. Some signs that your plants need a drink are:

• wilting leaves
• dropping flower buds
• stunted growth

You should pay special attention if you can answer yes to any of the following questions:

1. The trees or shrubs are less than five years old. Young plants need moist, but not saturated soil for the first few growing seasons until their roots get well established.
2. The Tree or shrub in question is planted in a container or in soil pockets surrounded by paving. Plants that don't have quite so much room need to be watered more frequently.
3. The shrub or tree has shallow roots or large leaves. Dogwoods and Azaleas, for example, have most of their roots close to the surface where the soil dries out quickly. Plants with large leaves such as magnolias or hydrangeas lose more water through their large leaves.
4. The shrub grows under an overhang or someplace where it doesn't get quite as much rain water as it would in the open.
5. The weather has been hot, dry, or windy.

As a rule, if the soil is dry at the depth of about 6 to 8 inches you'll need to water. Trees and shrubs tend to absorb the most water through roots in the top 12 inches of soil. You can encourage trees and shrubs to develop deeper drought-resistant roots by watering deeply getting the soil moist down to about 8 inches. If you're stingy with the water it can encourage the plant to develop roots closer to the surface and it will need to be watered more often!