Drought Management

Lack of rainfall in our area means that many tree species such as horse chestnut, line and birch are already showing symptoms of drought damage. The initial symptoms are paling of the tree crown followed by leaves yellowing and then starting to fall prematurely. Consequently, if your tree has a litter of dried, brown leaves under the canopy then it may be suffering from drought stress. This also increases the tree’s susceptibility to harmful insect and disease pests that would not ordinarily attack healthy plants.

What can you do? Ideally, water the tree. Most small to medium sized trees need a minimum of 30 litres of water a day to help them through a drought. Mulching all the area under the tree crown will also be of great benefit and is strongly recommended.