The mornings are darker when I awake and the evening comes earlier as I notice the shortening of the days and start to think about fall gardening care and the last of the summer heat has allowed me to get out into the garden to do the much needed weeding in my Mediterranean herb beds.
However, this is also the time to remember that watering must continue, at least, here in my neck of the woods because rain does not come only about once a month now that we are living with global warming. Are you experiencing the same conditions?
Probably so and this is the time to consider early fall tree care especially any newly planted shrubs and trees. We also have a tendency to forget to water evergreens. All these trees and shrubs should be watered by either you or Mother Nature until the ground freezes. If your area is receiving a one inch gift of rain from Mother Nature each week then you are fine. However, if not, then you must do it in order to maintain the good health of your trees, shrubs and evergreens. Remember, these are the most expensive plant investments one makes to one's landscaping.
Since broadleaf evergreens and evergreens keep their leaves all winter, they continue to give off water vapor through a process called transpiring and they do it through all the cold months also, thus they need to have a good amount of watering in the fall.
Winter damage to these types of trees comes from the late winter wind and rain, not from cold weather. Once the ground is frozen solid these trees roots cannot take up water and that condition will cause for great moisture losses from transpiration and will cause extreme dehydration which in turn will cause the foliage of your evergreens to burn and turn brown.
I remember when I was a kid many of our neighbors went out and wrapped their evergreens with burlap in the fall. I thought this was the thing to do until I discovered it was totally unnecessary besides it really took away from the "evergreen" look which was lost once the tree was covered with burlap in the snow.
There are a few evergreens that may benefit from covering them and one particular one I remember that is prone to winter-burn in the dwarf Alberta spruce and probably any new small evergreens that have just been planted because these new wooded plants root system have not had time to develop strong root systems .
So if you feel you have some evergreens that would be vulnerable this winter, do not wrap them up, just create a windbreak around them by hammering in four wooden stakes and staple the burlap to the stakes. Do not use plastic or they will cook on sunny days.
"Tread the Earth Lightly" and in the meantime May your day be filled with Peace, Light and Love,
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