AUSTIN (KXAN) — Central Texas is breaking its file of one-hundred diploma days on Friday, one other excessive level in a sweltering summer time. While we’re all feeling the warmth, so are our timber.

“Without any rain, the soil is starting to dry out. And obviously, the roots of the trees are in the soil and looking for that water,” stated Sarah Ruark, a technical advisor with The Davey Institute, half of Davey Tree.

“Over time, that’s going to weaken the tree because it’s under stress now, and that allows some secondary insects or diseases to come in, and really take advantage of the trees we can state.”

It’s not simply this yr’s extreme warmth and drought impacting the timber, but in addition final yr’s drought and the 2021 Winter Storm, in accordance to Rourk.

“I’m noticing most trees have not really had a good chance to recover. And so they’re all feeling a little bit stressed out right now.”

Looking for a harassed tree

There are a number of indicators that your tree is harassed and probably sick or dying.

“Wilting of the leaves, they’ll be kind of droopy, and they might start curling up, you may even notice they’re looking like they’re getting burned around the edges. And some trees, they might even go early into their fall color and start dropping leaves,” Rourk stated.

If you suppose your tree is not doing nicely, watering is the plain reply. Rourk stated you need to take a distinct method to watering your tree than you do a garden.

“The trees roots are deeper in the soil. So you want to water for a longer period of time than you would water your lawn to really allow the water to soak down to where the roots are,” Rourk stated.

Her recommendation: put your sprinkler on the bottom setting after which seize some dishes.

“Put a soup can or coffee can near the sprinkler and when it fills to two inches of water. That’s probably a good amount of water to put down for your tree.”

Keep in thoughts, many Central Texas communities have water restrictions in place. Your watering will seemingly have to happen at night time or on a particular day of the week.