WINTER WATERING
Year-round maintenance of plants is essential to any landscape, especially the first 2-3 years of a newly planted landscape. Winter watering is crucial and often overlooked. In most years once a month is sufficient. The most important time for supplemental water is the fall prior to subzero temperatures.
In Colorado, our driest months are during the winter and many plants need
supplemental water in order to survive. This is true for both deciduous and evergreen plants.
Many woody plants have shallow root systems that cannot tap into the
underground water, thus subjecting them to root damage. The result is a stressed plant that is weakened throughout the winter making them more susceptible to insects and disease. In most instances, the problem isn’t noticed until late spring or summer.
Conifers and broadleaf evergreens are more subject to winter desiccation than their deciduous counterparts.
Diagnosis is easier because the problem is immediately noticeable.
There are 4 important guidelines to remember when winter watering:
- Water only when the ground is not frozen and when the temperature is above freezing, (the warmer the better).
- Water early in the day so that the water will have time to soak in before possible freezing occurs at night.
- Newly planted trees should be watered about an hour with a
slow trickle from a garden hose and shrubs for about a half-hour. Move the location of the hose periodically during this time or a soil needle attachment is efficient as well. (Follow guidelines). - Use a lawn sprinkler for new or established lawns with a south or west exposure or for established trees since their roots are generally shallow and have a spread comparable to the height of that plant.
NOTE: 1 foot of snow is approximately equal to 1” of water.
The amount of moisture in each snowflake differs depending on the temperature, changing the snow to water ratio.