Should You Water Your Plants in Winter?

The basics of how, when, and why you should water in dry, frigid weather

Those of us who have drop a few years ( or more ) in the American West know that wintertime here does n’t see like wintertime in much of the country . As far as I ’m concerned , this is a good thing ; I do n’t relish twenty-four hour period of grizzly skies and unrelenting snow masking . Ourwoody landscape painting plants , however , would say otherwise .

Particularly true for broken elevation and intermountain portions of the West , regular sunny days , fart , and a lack of C. P. Snow cover combine with significant daytime thawing – even when night are cold – wreak mayhem on many woody plant , specially those that are not yet install . Cold anddroughtdamage plant cells through similar mechanism , so teetotal , frosty weather delivers a double whammy to these plants . Learn more : protect Trees Through Unpredictable Winters in the Mountain West

Does your garden need water in winter?

This practice session is not especially beneficial in garden that holdsnow coverover winter , since plants in such gardens already take in water when temperature ascend . In “ wintertime brown ” garden , however , watering earmark us to negociate one of those plant - damaging variable : evaporation ( the operation of utmost drying ) . At its most basic , this is the concept behind winter watering .

How does winter watering help plants?

As much as ithydrates the plant life , wintertime wateringserves to replace air in the land profile with H2O . Water has one of the highest specific heat energy capacity of any liquid , meaning it can hold an tremendous amount of oestrus Energy Department compared to many natural substance . lento radiate this heat into the filth , water insulates root word and lose weight temperature swingswhile hydrating the roots it envelop . This has benefit beyond the tooth root , too , as there is some enquiry to point that unconstipated wintertime lachrymation alsoreduces the likeliness of sunscald(also recognise as southwest injury ) on tree trunks .

Basics of winter watering

Typically , I get down winter watering in November and will continue until April during stop of dry atmospheric condition and warm temperatures ( imagine no Baron Snow of Leicester cover and days breaking 40 ° F ) .

♦ How do I know if a plant life is established?One can apace figure whether a larger shrub or tree is established using the following normal regarding automobile trunk diam : for every in diameter of a tree trunk , the industrial plant will need one year in the basis to establish . So , a tree with a two - inch diameter trunk ( measured at chest stature ) would require two years lower limit to reach establishment after organ transplant . In our rather harsh clime , assuming plant life ask an extra year to establish certainly does n’t hurt .

Water widely and deeply for best results

The destination is not to deliver water to the tree as much as it is to hydrate the grime where roots may be , so wet part of the root zone very well is less efficacious than wet the bulk of the theme zone reasonably well . And , since the root word system of a tree diagram can extend up to three times its drip line ( distance from the trunk to outside edge of foliage ) , ensure you water supply not only under the tree but around its perimeter , too . The caveat here is that late transplant , with their highly organic potting mixes and little antecedent Lucille Ball , can gain from just setting the hose out in their transplant well at a trickle .

Make it part of your routine

The type of job that can be easy total to a 24-hour interval of study around the house , winter watering hardly feel like a nervous strain when built into your regular routine as a monthly task . Your landscape will sure give thanks you and , hopefully , you ’ll be able-bodied to enjoy those gay westerly days without the shrewish business organization that you ’ve left your landscape painting mellow and dry . Just be certain to unhook the hosiery after !

More information for Mountain West Winters :

How to Winterize Your Irrigation organization

The Pros and Cons of Different Irrigation Systems for the Mountain West

And for more Mountain West regional written report , click here .

Bryan Fischer lives and gardens at the intersection of the Great Plains and the Rockies . He is a plantsman and the conservator of plant life collections for a local botanical garden .

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