Helping trees affected by the drought and heat this summer

As we have trees for a temperate climate and had a Mediterranean summer (high temperatures on the back of a 10 month drought, many trees suffered.

Some died, some will have died back, others lost leaves (as these transpire moisture). All of which will have reduced photosynthesis (energy in), that will have weakened the tree.

Hopefully next year will be benign, as the impact of hot and dry weather for another year will amplify the stress.

The first step in helping your stressed trees, is to water them.. Autumnal rains are helping. The effect of a long hot summer is the baking of the soil. This massively reduces the percolation of moisture into the soil. A light forking of the soil, will allow the moisture to enter the soil. Watering should be slow to minimise run-off.

As the health of all trees is largely dependent on their associated Soil Biology, this should be applied once the moisture has started to penetrate the soil.

The root system, should be mulched with woodchip to around 10cm deep, with the area around the trunk kept clear. As this composts down it feeds the Soil Biology with organic matter. It also helps by retaining moisture and suppressing weed growth. A mulch finish compared to a grass finish will have upto 15 times the Mycorrhizal activity.

For the health of all of your trees and shrubs, they should be mulched. As nature intended.