 |
At Home |
|
|
| Protect your landscape during drought season |
|
| By Steve Allegeier, Master Gardener |
Monday, July 09, 2007 |
|
|
Again, we have had a relatively dry spring and early summer for our lawns and gardens, and soil moisture levels are extremely low. Unfortunately, we are entering the time of the summer that typically produces scattered thunderstorms, resulting in inconsistent precipitation throughout our county.
A majority of Carroll County's lawns, trees and shrubs have experienced dry summers the last two years, and we are now entering another summer with a moisture or water deficit.
This situation can be especially worrisome, since many landscape plants depend on adequate tissue and soil moisture during the spring to help offset the typically dry Maryland summers. There are some pluses to dry weather, such as not needing to cut lawns as frequently or root rot problems in susceptible plants. Yet, we still need to consider the future of our landscape plants. Here are some hints to help ease stressful drought conditions for your lawn and garden.
Most gardens, once established, need little additional moisture.
There are many annuals and perennials well-suited for drought conditions (see the publication "Drought Tolerant Annuals or Drought Tolerant Perennials," which can be requested from the Carroll County Extension Office). Consider incorporating these into your landscape.
Water deeply and infrequently.
Mow the lawn high. High lawns provide better shade for the soil and protect against evaporation.
Mulch bare soil no more than 2 inches. Mulch provides many things for the soil including moisture protection.
Eliminate weeds. Weeds are competitors and are typically better able than most garden plants to capture available soil water.
|
Gather water from air conditioners and dehumidifiers or other sources of safe but wasted water to irrigate landscape plants.
Install a rain barrel or two to capture roof drainage.
Postpone fertilizer applications until the fall. In general, summer fertilization of turf is not recommended. Nutrients from fertilizers become unavailable during times of drought, and fertilizers create undue stress on many plants, especially the conditions our soils are under now.
Plants' roots need fertilizers to be dissolved first in a soil solution (moist soils), before the plant can take up and use these nutrients. Plants under stress are less able to take up nutrients anyway because of reduced or damaged root systems. Under these conditions, fertilizers tend to build up around roots and cause additional harm. It is best to avoid granular fertilization of the lawn and garden until after the soil moisture levels have rebounded and a cool season has begun (especially for turf).
In fact, in extreme situations, granular fertilizers can actually draw valuable moisture away from your plants. Likewise, liquid fertilizers can contribute to plant stress and death if there is no additional moisture that the plants will require once stimulated by a liquid fertilizer application.
Postpone herbicide applications. Most lawn weed killers are designed to kill weeds but they can stress turf even under good conditions (have you ever yellowed your lawn temporarily after spraying for weeds?). Our lawns' ability to grow and compete with weeds can be compromised by the additional stresses of an herbicide during harsh dry periods. Likewise, herbicides' effectiveness against the target weeds is greatly compromised when weeds are not actively growing, especially during droughts.
As I jokingly tell my clients, "You might as well throw dollar bills at the weeds if a herbicide is not taken up by the intended weed." Fortunately, most lawns in the area have a tall turf type fescue and will become dormant during a drought. Yet even these grasses have their limits and some reseeding will probably need to be done for areas that have died out. Again, wait until early September to do this.
Prioritize your watering. Some plants are more valuable than others and some plants have higher water requirements than others. Assess your landscape for what plants need irrigation. Recently planted trees and shrubs or expensive landscape plants should take priority over turf and established trees and shrubs. Try to come up with a plan, especially since water resources are limited.
Steve Allgeier, home horticultural consultant with the Carroll County Cooperative Extension, is available to answer questions for the public from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Contact him at 410-386-2760 or hortman@umd.edu.
|
Add Your Own Comment:
Please review the legal policies posted here before posting a comment. To report abuse click here.
|
|
|
| Online Poll |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
