An engaged civic leader brought a good point to my attention today – the City is losing many young trees to the dry weather and will have to replant them at taxpayer expense in future years. The issue is even more important with the loss of Ash Borer trees.
Many Hamiltonians have young trees from the City’s free tree program or have young trees in their road allowance.
Let’s do our part and help these trees survive by watering them. It’s not just as simple as running the hose for a few minutes, but it isn’t too hard either. The Sacramento Tree Foundation offers good advice on how to water a tree.
While the video and advice is for California, it’s applicable here.
The Bucket Method seems to be the easiest means suggested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_kQZriJ38U
The Bucket Method:
- Collect water in a bucket while your shower warms up.
- Drill a small hole (1/8″) near the bottom of a second bucket and place it near the trunk of your young tree.
- Fill second bucket with the shower water you saved. The water will slowly drip into the soil and keep your tree healthy.
Your young tree only needs 10-15 gallons of water per week. That’s the same amount of water used in a 6 minute shower! Learn more about caring for your young trees.