Strong Winds Damage Bottletree and What to Do

Q. I have several bottle trees, now over 7 feet tall, damaged by two windstorms close together. After the windstorms, the branches were sagging, and the tree looked pitiful; the tree looked like it was in shock. Next morning I watered it thoroughly for about 5 minutes with a hose. The tree looked happier. The trees are watered twice each day for eight minutes by drippers and surrounded by rock mulch.

Bottletree loss of leaves due to high winds. Make sure when you water these trees that they are given enough water, maybe 20 to 30 gallons depending on their size, and distributed over a wide area. Then hold off on your next irrigation until the soil has a chance to dry out. This helps the roots of the tree to breathe and not get suffocated by the water.

A. I’m not a big fan of watering daily and watering trees for only a few minutes each time. Basically you give them a sip of water every day instead of a big gulp all at once. I understand that some irrigation systems will allow different irrigation scenarios. Now is the time to bite the bullet and change all that.

Put trees and shrubs on different irrigation lines from the much small plants that must be watered daily. Please realize that as trees get bigger they need more water, and they need this water applied to a wider area. This means adding more drip emitters under the tree every three or four years as large trees and shrubs get bigger.

            Tree roots grow where water is applied. If water is applied close to the trunk, that’s where roots will grow unless there are other plants nearby also getting water. Roots growing close to the trunk (because that’s where all the water is!) increase the chance of the tree blowing over in a strong wind. They must survive on the water that you give them and where it’s applied. Where water is applied is where plant roots will take up the water. They know enough NOT to take water up from dry soil. They can't! This is why partial root zone drying works. Its science you truthsayers.

How to give it more water without changing the time on the irrigation clock?

            What to do? Add more emitters under the tree canopy about 18 inches apart. Spread them apart. Apply water to a larger area under the tree canopy. And water for a long time. Add these emitters to previously dry areas further away from the trunk. Instead of watering twice a day, water every other day, only once, but water for 30 or 40 minutes instead. Pretend you are filling a reservoir of water and let the tree use half of it, then water again and fill it.

Rebar and how deep to water? Pretty easy and cheap to do. Push it into the soil into the wetted soil several spots just after an irrigation. 

Want to Know How Much to Water?

Want to know how much to water? Buy a thin piece of rebar about 4 feet long and push it into the soil after you finish an irrigation. The rebar slides easily into the wet soil where water is applied and then it stops. If it stops at 15 inches deep and you want 18 inches, add another ten minutes to your irrigation to get it deeper or change to a larger emitter. 

Dont want to add more minutes to the clock? Add more drip emitters and increase their size if needed. Put them 18 inches apart and let them fill the soil to the proper depth. Remember with trees, it is important to water deeply AND apply it wide enough under its canopy. This is what is meant when people say, "Water trees deeply and not frequently."

Rebar is difficult to push into soil where the applied water no longer reaches. A tree like a bottle tree should have wet soil from an irrigation about 24 inches deep when it is young.