GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — With the dry weather we've had over the last month, your trees could be in danger of drying up. To help fight that, experts say it's as simple as grabbing a bucket and a hose to keep your trees, especially young ones, in good shape this summer.
Joe Sulak is the park superintendent for the City of Grand Rapids. He helps take care of more than 90,000 trees around town.
On Thursday, he was out watering some of the younger trees at Fairplains Cemetery, saying young trees can have their growth stunted if the roots can't take hold because of dry soil.
Sulak recommends drilling a hole in the side of a bucket and letting the water slowly drip out on to the base of your trees.
"If you can get up to 15 gallons of water on that tree a week, that'll keep that root ball moist enough that it can make it through some of these dry spells," says Sulak.
He says a lack of water can cause something called leaf scorch on your trees, something to keep an eye out for to know if it's time to water them.
"Where the outside of the leaf dries up a bit, or they might wilt," explains Sulak. "That's the tree's reaction to the fact that it's not getting enough water."
So how can you combat it?
He says it's as simple as drilling a small hole in a five gallon bucket, filling it with water and placing it at the base of your tree.
"You got a nice, slow water and then you walk away," says Sulak.
He says right now he's not concerned about some of the older and larger trees, but it's something to keep an eye on with them if our dry spell continues.
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