The hot, dry summer we just experienced has put a toll on the trees in our area. With the heat finally giving way to cooler weather, many homeowners think they don’t have to worry about drought stress anymore. Unfortunately, they are wrong. Trees can still suffer from drought stress during the fall and winter. Even worse, exposure to drought stress year after year can lead to your tree having serious health issues and in some cases death.
Tree Drought Symptoms:
May be sudden or could take up to 2 years to show
- Wilting & Curling Leaves
- Yellowing Leaves
- Leaf scorching, brown outside edges or browning between veins.
- Needles turning yellow, red or purple.
- Overall decline in vigor
- Death if drought stress is experienced year after year.
Proper watering is a great tool in reducing drought stress, but most of us busy homeowners don’t have the time or energy to make sure our trees get enough water. A task that can sometimes take upwards of an hour per tree! The easy solution is a Tree Growth Regulator treatment. Tree growth regulators utilize three techniques to help make your tree drought resistant.
First, it gently slows the growth of the tree. Second, it develops thicker waxy cuticle (coating) & a thicker epidermis (skin) that is densely covered with fine hairs. These two techniques help reduce water loss in a tree. Lastly, it reallocates energy from new leaf growth to fine feeder root growth. This helps the tree absorb more water.
The tree growth regulator also allows you to prune less often and reduce costs related to watering and fertilizing. The best part of it all is that 1 treatment lasts up to 3 years! If you’re worried your tree has been experiencing drought stress, or you want to proactively protect your tree from drought stress book a consultation with one of our certified arborists online or by calling 703.573.3029.
