Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Drip Tubing for Trees


























Tree roots grow one and one-half to two and even three times the width of the foliage above. More amazingly, this ratio is maintained throughout the life of the tree, regardless of the rootstock, species and soil.

These two trees don't understand this basic rule of thumb. The one with two circles has the right idea that trees should be watered in circles. But at least the inner circle with the beige/brown tubing is too close to the trunk. This is at least a waste of tubing. With drought tolerant trees and many other water sensitive roots can receive enough water to cause root rot. Put the emitters further out, near the dripline of the canopy. (Based on the book Drip Irrigation- For Every Landscape and All Climates.)


“BUY FROM THE SOURCE TO HELP KEEP WRITERS WRITING”


Let me know what you think. Visit my web site to learn about my new book on drip irrigation and other gardening books. Thanks, Robert

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Pollarding, Oy Vey



A futile attempt at pruning an ornamental ‘Bradford Pear’ tree to keep it from blocking the names of the business. (The photograph on the right.) The trees were bought on a whim by somebody that wasn’t thinking about their future size. The pitiful attempt to turn them into some kind of pollarded tree sure doesn’t seem to working. This tree has been pruned (hacked) this way for over 5 years. Don’t make this mistake! Sycamore/London Plane trees work much better and are the common tree for pollarding trees in Paris and other countries, as seen in the photograph on the left.


“BUY FROM THE SOURCE TO HELP KEEP WRITERS WRITING”


Let me know what you think. Visit my web site to learn about my new book on drip irrigation and other gardening books. Thanks, Robert