Q. I read your article in the newspaper regarding the
effects on limbs from overwatering of Italian Cypress. I have 15 mature Cypress
along a back wall. They are about 18 years old and 30 feet in height with 7 to 9-inch
diameter trunks. They are watered 3 to 4 days a week in the summer, three
cycles per day and 5 to 8 minutes per cycle. They each have three drip emitters
with 10 gallons per hour. I’m afraid to change the watering cycle for fear the
trees are used to more frequent watering.
I just don’t know.
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| When Italian Cypress has a droopy branches like this one, it is usually an indicator that it's getting watered too often. These are Mediterranean plants. They respond to water by growing more, similar to desert plants. When they grow more, this growth is frequently weak and can't support itself so it becomes "floppy". Notice this Italian Cypress is close to a lawn that requires frequent irrigation. |
A. Don’t argue
with success if there are no problems. If the trees are healthy and you are
happy with their appearance I would not change anything. Tree roots adjust to
the location and number of emitters that are used. Once you begin changing this
it requires the tree to adapt to the change.
You are
right. If you do change the watering pattern, do it in increments and don’t do
it all at once. Do it gradually.
 |
| Italian Cypress should grow upright without floppy branches. It helps if they are surrounded by dry soil. Dry soil "pulls" water from the wet areas and helps them to dry out faster. |
But you
should be aware of several things about watering trees. First, it is best if
trees are watered less often but with more water. I think a saving grace for
you is that you give one day of “rest”, without water, between irrigations.
This gives the soil a chance to drain and the roots a chance to “breathe”.
If soils
around the roots of Italian Cypress are kept constantly wet, the tree can grow
very rapidly. This is good, and this is bad. If Italian Cypress grows very
rapidly then the limbs can become very long and weak. Limbs may begin to droop
and not give the tree its characteristic rocket like shape.
Secondly,
the roots will grow near the surface of the soil, shallow, because they can’t
get a good mixture of air and water to grow deeper. The soil is too wet. This
may not help the tree anchor itself in the soil during strong winds. It might
blow over easier. Perhaps the saving grace in all this has been a lack of applied
fertilizer. I’m not sure.
Thirdly,
as trees get larger they need water applied further and further from the trunk.
These additional drip emitters give the roots a chance to grow further from the
trunk and provide better anchorage in the soil.
Perhaps
there are other plants growing close enough, or even a lawn, where the Italian
Cypress can take on water. But only three emitters per tree, watering trees of
this size, does not spread the water out far enough to give them strong support
to keep them upright in strong winds.
I have a row of 6 mature Italian cypress and only 1 of them looks like your photo of the over watered tree. The branches are floppy and getting brown in some areas. Some of the others have minor brown areas at the bottom. Is this some kind of sickness they get? Please help I do not want to lose this tree.
ReplyDeleteDifficult to diagnose from a distance. Soils are very variable in just short distances. If water is not draining from the soil in a spot the plant may struggle with poor drainage and wet soils while plants nearby are not. Make sure water is not applied often to these trees. Applying water too often is more of a problem than applying alot of water each time you water. In other words, if you are watering too much it is best to apply too much water at one time than applying too much water by applying too often. Big difference for plants when overwateiing. Make sure soil is dry before watering again. Watering frequently causes rapid flushes of growth that are week and bend easily. You can auger holes a few inches in diameter about a foot or two from the trunk to about three feet deep to improve drainage.
DeleteI have 19 Italian cypress trees in my backyard too! They are tall and old. I live in CA It only rains in the winter and dry during the growing seasons. My trees have been very nice to me. I very seldom water them. Only when it is very hot and starts drooping. Then I use a hose to water whoever looks it needs water. The crows get inside of the trees to get the seeds. They make the branches bent over like your picture showed. But after a while, it grows back with the trunk. They don’t behave like many people think. I don’t know why too! Sorry to say.
ReplyDeleteI have problems with two of them within these couple years. It is the cranker. One died very fast. For the other, I tried to use drip system to water it for the last two months. But much less water than your. Unfortunately I think I will losing it soon.