On site & Transplant Irrigation
JOB SITE STORAGE of boxed and container grown trees requires careful and conscientious irrigation during all seasons, especially summer. As all desert dwellers are too painfully aware, the intense heat and summer sun are relentless from as early as April until well into October. The margin for error in irrigation scheduling is almost non-existent. Root balls that are allowed to dry will experience significant damage almost immediately.
Appreciate that water enters the roots of plants through root hairs that are barely as wide as a human hair. They are easily and irreversibly damaged when soils become dry. Damaged root hairs do not recover when water is reapplied, and plants must grow new ones before water uptake can occur. This re-growth may take more time than some trees can tolerate. Severe water stress can cause defoliation that can lead to sunburn/sun injury of trunks and branches, dieback of new growth or rapid decline and death.
Visit our website and download the publication “On site & Transplant Irrigation” for a full discussion of these and related issues associated with tree irrigation and suggested application rates and schedules.