Have you ever been out watering your garden, and as a part of your nightly routine, you start to water that tree that has been in the ground for 10 or more years. You wonder to yourself if it even matters if you water the tree, and is it just able to pull all the water it needs from the ground, and doesn’t need you to take the time to water it yourself! Well, that is what we are going to talk about in this article.
Should you water a mature tree that has been there a long time? It turns out that yes, you should still water your mature trees, as they need water during drought times, just like the rest of your plants! However not in the same way that you would water a new tree, or any of your other plants.
How often and how much should you water your mature trees?
Many people make the mistake of watering their mature trees just as often and as much as they water their other plants around them, however this actually trains the tree incorrectly which can hurt it in the long run!
It is best practice to completely drench the area around the tree, and not at the trunk itself! Mature trees have their roots spread out away from the trunk of the tree now, so watering the trunk will no longer get water to where it is needed, instead you should probably be using a sprinkler that spreads the water evenly a couple feet in all directions from the bottom of that trunk.
You should be watering your tree only once a week, or even up to once a month, rather than your daily ritual you do for your garden! Why is this? If you water your tree on a daily basis, the tree has no need to push its roots farther down into the ground, and instead keeps its roots at the surface because it knows it will get water there daily.
This can make your mature tree susceptible to heat, snow, and even to falling over due to those shallow roots.
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How long can mature trees go without water?
The length of time for a tree to go without water is extremely up to the tree itself! Most trees you probably have planted (if they aren’t rated for the desert), should probably watered once every week to every month.
Meanwhile I have seen trees down in the Mojave Desert that never need to be watered, and they instead of expansive root systems that expand hundreds of feet away and take any and all water from the rest of the plants in the area.
Conclusion
It is really important to water your tree if it has been around for a long time, and make sure that you are watering the roots of the mature tree. This will ensure that your plant stays healthy!
What should gardeners do if they have a tree that has been in the ground for over ten years? Well, you are probably already watering it! But not like other plants. Mature trees need water during drought times as well, but only once every week or month to keep them healthy.
