During a drought year we immediately saw the effects to turfgrass. Trees respond slower in drought conditions. Trees have more leaf surface for increased photosynthesis and longer roots to store nutrients, water and carbohydrates. Now, trees are showing their stress.
Summer began in late March in 2012. With the summer heat and lack of rainfall, the trees have struggled to keep up. We are beginning to see trees to shut down for the year with leaf color change and the eventual leaf drop. We are seeing this process occur about 1 month ahead of normal.
The cottonwoods, ash, oak, lindens and even the buckeye trees have begun to lose their color. We should expect a long fall with leaf drop occurring for the next 2 months if not longer.Many of the these trees on the property are non-native to the Front Range and will struggle under these conditions.
The staff has been deep watering trees for the past couple of weeks now to assist with the dry soils. We'll keep going through the fall to assist with the drought stress in the soil.
Over the next couple of years we'll need to watch the trees carefully. Drought stress make them susceptible to other weaknesses such as fungus or insects. Increased care will be required over the next couple of years to survive the stress of 2012.
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| Buckeye tree on Pfluger 8 tee beginning to lose color after a long, hot summer |
Summer began in late March in 2012. With the summer heat and lack of rainfall, the trees have struggled to keep up. We are beginning to see trees to shut down for the year with leaf color change and the eventual leaf drop. We are seeing this process occur about 1 month ahead of normal.
The cottonwoods, ash, oak, lindens and even the buckeye trees have begun to lose their color. We should expect a long fall with leaf drop occurring for the next 2 months if not longer.Many of the these trees on the property are non-native to the Front Range and will struggle under these conditions.
The staff has been deep watering trees for the past couple of weeks now to assist with the dry soils. We'll keep going through the fall to assist with the drought stress in the soil.
Over the next couple of years we'll need to watch the trees carefully. Drought stress make them susceptible to other weaknesses such as fungus or insects. Increased care will be required over the next couple of years to survive the stress of 2012.
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