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Gardening 101: Heat Stress on Your Trees

By
Jeff Ray
Jeff Ray
Jeff Ray
Jeff joined CBS 11 and TXA 21 in December 2010 as a staff Meteorologist. An avid gardener, you can catch his weekly Gardening 101 series on Fridays on CBS 11. Born in Lubbock, Jeff received his bachelor's degree in broadcast meteorology from Mississippi State University. He also holds a master's degree in science education from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Jeff's broadcast career spans over 35 years.
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Jeff Ray

/ CBS Texas

NORTH TEXAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) - Blame it on two summers in a row of drought and heat. This summer was the third hottest and fourth driest summer on record.

Last year was the fourth hottest on record with the second longest dry spell on record, from June 4 to August 9.

Across the metroplex, the harsh summers of 2022/2023 are on display. Trees are stressed: their leaves are turning brown and dropping. Perhaps some or most of their canopy is gone. Maybe portions of the tree look dead.

What should you do if you have a tree that looks like it is dead or dying? Act like it is still alive and going to make it, that's what.

Trees have a defense mechanism to drop leaves and shut down if the heat and drought are just too much to handle. They can go dormant just about any time during the growing season and bounce right back next year. The tree might look dead, but there is a rather good chance its roots are not.

The first thing to do is to make sure it continues to get enough water to stay alive. 

It is best to use drip irrigation that runs just inside the edge of its canopy, the drip line. Water until you can easily shove a medium-sized screwdriver into the ground. Keep it watered until the rains and cooler weather of Fall arrive. Then make sure to water the tree on the cold season holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine's Day if rain has been sparse.

Don't fertilize the tree and don't trim back and limbs. Wait until Spring before you do any cutting on the tree. If it's an oak tree wait until late summer to keep from spreading oak wilt before pruning.

The tree is going to look stressed next year as well. It can take a couple of growing seasons before a tree comes all the way back. There are going to be summers like this in the future. Put drip irrigation and mulch around all your trees to minimize heat stress next summer.

Trees are your biggest plants with the longest lives of anything you grow. They deserve some patience and some tender loving care when our summer turns harsh. In a couple of weeks, I'll run another story on the best trees for the future here in North Texas.

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