Too much water can hurt your trees' growth, but it doesn't have to be that way if you know the right measures to take. Here are some of the measures that will help you save your trees from the damaging effects of flooding:
Drain Away the Water
The first measure is to drain away the water and start the soil on its path to drying as soon as possible. Of course, this is only possible for localized flooding and not if the whole neighborhood is under water. If the area is underwater, then there is usually nothing you can do until the water subsides.
Stop Fertilizer Application
If the trees in question are young and still being fertilized, stop the fertilizer application until after the water resides. For one, applying fertilizer during this time hurts the environment because most of it will just be washed away or leached into other places where it may not be needed. This also means you will be wasting your fertilizer.
Stabilize the Trees
A flooded tree is likely to be weakened because too much water affects the composition of the soil and weakens it. In some cases, the water may also unearth the tree's roots, making them susceptible to wind damage. You should suspect that this is the case if the trees are leaning or if you can see their exposed roots once the water subsides. If that is the case, then you will have to stabilize the trees by covering up the exposed roots and stake those that are leaning too much. Don't forget that poor staking may cause further damage to the trees so it's best handled by professional tree care services.
Work Organic Matter into the Soil
Too much water in the soil drives out both air and nutrients from the soil. Therefore, you need to get both air and nutrients back into the soil by working organic matter into the soil near the base of the trees. Organic mulch will work great for this purpose.
Prune the Trees
It may also be a good idea to trim the affected trees, especially if they are extremely bushy or if there is heavy foliage. For one, this will reduce the weight of the trees and reduce their risk of topping over. Secondly, it will reduce the workload of the trees, which is necessary because the trees will be stressed with the water logging.
Share14 June 2018
After we moved into our house, we knew that something had to be done about our trees. The branches looked off-kilter, and we could tell that someone had pruned them incorrectly at one time or another. Unfortunately, we weren't really sure how to repair the damage. A family friend talked with us about hiring a professional tree trimmer, and so we called them the next day. The difference that they made was astounding. They removed dead branches, trimmed up the shape, and let more sunlight through. My blog is all about improving the look of your trees by hiring a professional.