Blog Post

5 Tips to Help Your Tree Survive a Dry Season

  • By Admin
  • 28 Jan, 2019

This is a subtitle for your new post

Trees In Park

Trees are among the hardiest of all plants. They have deep root systems and numerous defenses against infection, harmful insects, and even short-term lack of rain. However, a persistently dry season can take a toll on your tree. By the time you notice the signs of declining healthy, the damage is harder to reverse.

The trick to helping your tree stay healthy during a dry season is to take action before you see your tree start to struggle. Here's how you can help reduce the effects of drought on your tree.

1. Provide Slow Water

When the ground is dry, pouring large amounts of water over the roots of your tree will provide some benefit, but it is not the most effective way to water to preserve root health. Trees do best in soil that is consistently moist. A large amount of water delivered in a short burst will evaporate or run off before it has a change to sink down deep to the roots of a tree.

To help conserve water and make sure the roots get ample opportunity to absorb moisture, circle a drip hose around the tree in a coiled fashion, extending outwards several feet from the trunk. The water will come out in steady drips, keeping the soil consistently moist.

If water conservation is an issue, you can turn off the drip hose for a few days and then run it for several hours. The tree will adapt to reduced water by slowing its growth. You can provide just enough water to keep the roots from dying.

2. Add Mulch

Mulch helps to keep the ground from losing moisture during dry, hot days. You can spread mulch a few inches thick over the ground. Mulch also discourages weed growth. Since weeds take moisture and resources from the soil, anything that discourages them from growing near your tree is helpful.

3. Prioritize Tree Care Over Care for Smaller Plants

Sometimes, it's hard to know what to prioritize during a drought. Trees show delayed injury from dry weather, so your grass will brown and your flowers will die long before the leaves of your beautiful trees begin to curl and brown.

As a result, people will often begin trying to save their grass or their shrubs while leaving trees to their own devices. However, grass can recover from drought more easily, and shrubs are not very costly or challenging to remove and replace.

Trees, on the other hand, can suffer from drought damage for years. They lose precious root growth, and foliage production suffers. Drought-damaged trees are more likely to suffer infections or become infested with insects. And if your tree dies, you'll have to spend a lot to remove and replace it, especially if the tree is larger.

If you have dry weather and limited time and water resources, water your trees first.

4. Avoid Trimming

Trees usually can benefit from proper pruning. However, even if your tree does need to be trimmed, hold off if possible. Trimming your tree causes stress. Your tree must work harder after pruning to seal off the wounded areas. During normal circumstances, a healthy tree can easily recover from careful pruning.

During drought, your tree needs to conserve all of its resources. Requiring your tree to recover from trimming can make the rest of the tree suffer for precious water and nutrients.

5. Don't Fertilize

Finally, don't fertilize your trees during drought. Fertilization can normally help boost a tree's growth, but during a dry season, you don't want boosted growth. You instead want your tree to hunker down and wait until resources are abundant again.

When you force a tree to grow more with fertilizer, you place a greater demand for water, and the water might not be there. Your tree can end up dying as a result of the imbalance.

For more information, contact us at Holcomb Tree Service.

By Admin 30 May, 2019
Texas ash trees are beautiful additions to your yard. Learn how to keep your trees looking beautiful as they grow with these maintenance tips.
By Admin 28 Mar, 2019
For owners of modest residential lots, compact trees are a great choice. Here's how you can choose and plant trees appropriate to the Dallas region.
By Holcomb Tree Service 29 Nov, 2018
After living in your home for a while, you may turn your attention toward resale value. Even if selling your house is still years away, it is never too early to look into ways you can get the most out of your investment. There are a number of ways resale value can be added, and one easy method is to plant a new, healthy tree.
By Holcomb Tree Service 29 Nov, 2018

Healthy, appealing trees offer enormous benefits some of which may surprise you. Not only will trees in your landscape design improve curb appeal and increase your home's property value, but they can also aid in energy efficiency. While surprising to learn, trees that shade your home, windows and outdoor AC units can reduce cooling costs in the summer by 35%.

Planting young trees around your home will add curb appeal, but the lack of height and foliage will not help your heating and cooling costs. Therefore, you should plant attractive trees that will grow quickly, producing shade for energy conservation within a few years. This guide, and your contractor's help to maintain  will help you know which attractive, fast-growing and shade-producing trees you should consider for your yard.

Crabapple Tree


One tree that adds color, texture and a great deal of shade, while also being easy to grow and maintain, is the Crabapple tree. The tree produces blooms of lush pink flowers in the spring and thick green foliage through the summer and fall. This foliage shades your home with ease.

Since the tree's branches grow up, instead of out, this tree is the perfect option for your home's exterior and outdoor AC units. Be sure to prune away dead flowers and limbs in the early part of winter to ensure new growth in the spring and summer.

River Birch Tree


The river birch is another fast-growing, shade-producing tree that will make a big impact on your landscape design and heating and cooling costs. This tree is also easy to grow, and survives in most soil conditions and requires very little water once established.

Also, the River Birch thrives in areas of your yard that receives full sun. Planting this tree close to a sunny outdoor living area will keep you and your guests under comfortable shade. In addition, planting these trees next to your home's exterior windows will help reduce cooling costs.

It is important to note that the River Birch is a massive tree. On average, it can grow up to 50 or 90 feet tall. Because of its height, avoid planting the tree near power lines.

To ensure the tree remains attractive and healthy, trim off dead foliage and fertilize in the fall.

Crepe Myrtle Tree


A Crepe Myrtle is definitely one of the easiest trees to grow since it does not require any special soil conditions and is heat and drought-tolerant. Its unique shape has been compared to a mushroom cloud. This tree has either a single trunk or a multitude of trunks that intertwine together.

You will love the floral blooms that occur at the end of spring and early summer. In most climates, the blooms will continue through the early part of fall as well. Available in a large variety of colors including white, pink, red and purple, the Crepe Myrtle tree adds appeal, shade and value to your home.

While easy to grow, the Crepe Myrtle does require a decent amount of maintenance to keep it healthy and attractive. To protect its shape, pruning off dying foliage and branches at the end of winter is important.

Flowering Dogwood


There are many varieties of the Flowering Dogwood tree to consider. From the Barton species, which produces white blooms in the spring and grows to a height of 25 feet, or a Japanese Dogwood, which offers vibrant pink and red blooms in the spring and summer, the possibilities are endless.

No matter which species you choose, a Flowering Dogwood is a great option for areas of your yard that receive full sun or partial shade.

In the fall season, trim away dead overgrowth and dying blooms before fertilizing. This will help the tree survive the harsh winter temperatures.

To learn more about planting and maintaining your fast-growing, shade-producing trees, contact the professionals at Holcomb Tree Service today.

By Holcomb Tree Service 29 Nov, 2018
Fruit and nut trees are wonderful resources for the rancher and suburban property owner alike. Trees that produce food must be trimmed occasionally to ensure abundant harvests and healthy, sustained growth. There are three things you should know about managing your fruit and nut trees.
By Holcomb Tree Service 29 Nov, 2018
If you are looking to invest in the long-term value of your property, one of the best options is planting trees. According to several estimates, healthy, mature trees can add 10 to 20 percent to a home's worth. Besides aesthetic appeal, trees can also cool houses and produce fruits and nuts.

But, not all trees are equally valuable. By selecting species that will thrive and contribute to a home's environment, you may make your property much more appealing to buyers. These five steps will help you decide which new trees to plant near your home in Dallas, TX, and the surrounding areas.
By Holcomb Tree Service 29 Nov, 2018
Healthy, appealing trees offer enormous benefits some of which may surprise you. Not only will trees in your landscape design improve curb appeal and increase your home's property value, but they can also aid in energy efficiency. While surprising to learn, trees that shade your home, windows and outdoor AC units can reduce cooling costs in the summer by 35%.

Planting young trees around your home will add curb appeal, but the lack of height and foliage will not help your heating and cooling costs. Therefore, you should plant attractive trees that will grow quickly, producing shade for energy conservation within a few years. This guide, and your contractor's help to maintain, will help you know which attractive, fast-growing and shade-producing trees you should consider for your yard.
By Holcomb Tree Service 29 Nov, 2018
Storms can do a considerable amount of damage to your trees and to your landscaping in general. From cracked tree branches to flooded root systems, the damage caused by a storm can have a long-lasting effect on your trees' health. After a big storm blows through, it is a good idea to assess your trees for damage, and also to mitigate a few other common problems the storm may have caused. Complete these four tasks, and you should be on the right track.
By Holcomb Tree Service 29 Nov, 2018
Storms can do a considerable amount of damage to your trees and to your landscaping in general. From cracked tree branches to flooded root systems, the damage caused by a storm can have a long-lasting effect on your trees' health. After a big storm blows through, it is a good idea to assess your trees for damage, and also to mitigate a few other common problems the storm may have caused. Complete these four tasks, and you should be on the right track.
By Holcomb Tree Service 29 Nov, 2018

From energy efficiency and added curb appeal to an increase in your home's overall value, it is easy to see the benefits of healthy trees in your landscape design. Unfortunately, many homeowners do not fully understand how to care for their trees. While watering and even fertilizing may be priorities, protecting your trees from different diseases and pests is also important.

Oak wilt is one of the most common diseases that affect oak trees today. It is also one of the most devastating diseases because it affects the health and appearance oak trees - while also shortening their life spans. While shocking to learn, oak wilt can kill a tree within a few months after symptoms begin to set in.

Understanding and treating this disease is imperative. With this guide and the help of a certified arborist , you will learn the causes, signs and treatment options for trees with oak wilt disease.

Development of Oak Wilt Disease

Oak wilt disease is caused by a fungus, Ceratocystis fagacearum. This infectious fungus spreads fast - destroying the leaf veins that carry the tree's water supply. The fungus also spreads through the tree bark and creates thick mats of the fungus that beetles and other insects feed on. Once an insect feeds off the fungal mat, they will carry and transmit the oak wilt disease to other trees.

Once the fungus spreads to the tree's roots, oak wilt disease can be transmitted to other trees near or connected to the same root system.

Symptoms of Oak Wilt Disease

The symptoms of oak wilt disease vary according to what type of oak is infected with the fungus. Red oaks will show visible signs in the actual tree canopy. You may notice an oily, green discoloration on the foliage of the tree's canopy. This discoloration may change to a tan or reddish color as the fungus spreads. If the foliage is discolored and falling off the tree rapidly, the tree is most likely infected by oak wilt disease.

In live oak trees, signs of oak wilt will be prominent in the veins of the leaves. The middle part of the leaves and side veins will start to turn yellow and brown - this is known as veinal necrosis.

Treatment of Oak Wilt Disease

Because oak wilt can spread through the root system, you should remove infected trees from your property. Hiring a professional is best for
the removal of these trees because proper handling is essential to prevent the fungus from spreading to other areas of your landscape.

To save multiple trees that are infected with the oak wilt fungus, you may need to create a deep trench around diseased trees. This trench can stop the spread of the disease to other trees by protecting the underlying root system.

If you only have one tree in your yard that is infected, treatment is possible. Fungicide injections to the tree's trunk and soil around the tree will kill oak wilt fungus. However, you must also prune off infected branches and foliage.

Pruning infected limbs should not be conducted between the months of February and June. Spring is the ideal season for accommodating new growth in healthy trees, but infected trees will not see any benefits of pruning in the spring. Diseased branches should be removed in the winter, summer or fall.
Trusting the professionals to prune your trees is essential. Arborists have the necessary tools and experience to work around fungus and disease.
Oak wilt disease can wreak havoc on the look and health of your trees, but help is available. To learn more about preventing oak wilt and other diseases with proper tree care, contact the certified arborists at Holcomb Tree Service today.
Show More
Share by: