The residential landscape is not only an outdoor living space but is an investment and an asset. Plants are an essential piece to the value of that investment but do require proper care. Overall the care for plants is simple but it entails year round attention. Located in a high mountain desert landscape our winter conditions are very dry with fluctuating temperatures. These conditions will weaken the root structure and can cause plants to die in the warmer summer months. A damaged root system may not show signs of stress until the warmest times of the season when a plant is more apt to evaporation and requires a higher frequency of watering.
To protect the longevity and aesthetics of your plants practice a simple winter watering routine. For the best results plan on watering your plants when the ground is not frozen and free of snow and the soil and air temperatures are at least 40 degress farenheit. It is ideal to water around mid day to provide ample time for saturation before sundown and lower overnight temperatures.
New Plantings are the most susceptible to these risks because they have not had enough time to root in and adapt to their settings but existing plantings and trees still must be watered as well.
Watering:
Watering should not be done using an automated irrigation system but instead should be done by hand.To reduce the consumption of water; apply water directly to the critical root zone under the drip line of the plants branches and avoid using spray systems.Established trees may require subterreanean watering.
Trees: 10 gallons of water for every inch of its diameter. (ex. 3″ diameter=30 gallons of water)
New Shrubs: 5 gallons of water 2 times a month
Small Established shrub: 5 gallons once a month
Large Established shrub: 18 gallons a month
*Reduce amount of watering to account for times of precipitation
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Denver landscaping, irrigation, landscape colorado, winter irrigation, winter watering