Day: June 12, 2022

The best ways to #water a tree in our dry, #Colorado climate — City of #Boulder

Mrs. Gulch’s Moon Garden May 10, 2020.
Click the link to read the article on the City of Boulder website (Jonathan Thornton):

Growing trees in our region is difficult in wet years, let alone in drought years. What can you do during the hot, dry summer to help our leafy friends?

During the growing season from April to October it’s important to maintain new and existing trees by watering them and placing mulch within the dripline. Here are some tips to help your trees weather Colorado summers:

  • Keep the soil moist. Check the soil moisture at least once a week by digging down four inches, approximately 20 inches from the base of the tree. If the soil is dry, then soak well. Maintaining consistent soil moisture allows for better root water absorption. Drought stressed trees are more vulnerable to disease and insect infestations and branch dieback.
  • Water throughout the dripline. Tree root systems can spread two to three times wider than the height of the tree with most of the tree’s absorbing roots in the top twelve inches of the soil. Water at the tree’s “dripline,” which is the outermost circumference of the tree branches (in the red box below), and three to five feet beyond the dripline for evergreens.
  • Water deeply and slowly. Apply water to many locations within the dripline. The best methods for watering are with a garden hose, soaker hose, or sprinkler. Water slowly to prevent runoff of water.
    Provide the right amount of water. For newly planted trees, water approximately 10 gallons per inch of trunk diameter, two times a week. For an established or mature tree, water 15 gallons per inch of trunk diameter every other week. For example, if your tree is 15 inches in diameter, water using 225 gallons of water.
  • Mulch the dripline. Mulch conserves the soil’s moisture. Apply organic mulch (like wood chips, bark or evergreen needles) within the dripline two to four inches deep. Leave a one-inch space between the mulch and tree trunk. Eliminate turf prior to adding mulch; turf grass competes with the tree for water and nutrients.
  • Plant a tree. The city plants free trees in the public right of way. Apply for a free tree this summer, and Forestry staff will check the requested planting site in the fall. If your site qualifies, we’ll plant a tree there for free next spring! The Boulder Forestry annual tree seedling giveaways were canceled in 2020-2022 due to COVID restrictions but we hope to bring the events back in spring 2023. Check the Boulder Forestry website for announcements about upcoming events.

    • Properly maintained trees are critical to mitigating climate change, drawing down carbon, creating shade to cool heat islands, intercepting stormwater to reduce flooding, and improving air quality and public health. Thanks for taking care of the urban forest and for keeping your parched tree refreshed!

    Visit the city’s website for more information on tree care and watering.

    Renewable Water Resources proposal to Douglas County is ‘dead in the water’ — The #MonteVista Journal #RioGrande

    Sunrise March 16, 2022 San Luis Valley with Mount Blanca in the distance. Photo credit: Chris Lopez/Alamosa Citizen

    Click the link to read the article on the Monte Vista Journal website (Priscilla Waggoner). Here’s a excerpt:

    Two memos the commissioners received addressed Laydon’s hesitation in making a decision. The memos, both generated by Stephen Leonhardt — Douglas County’s legal counsel who attended the public meetings, including the one held April 23 — presented a 26-point list of significant obstacles the county would have to overcome if deciding to vote for the export, not the least of which involved the need to “develop a legislative strategy” to change state law and “numerous hurdles to obtain federal, state and county permits for the project”, including obtaining approval from the Secretary of the Department of Interior.

    As the memo explains, that may be problematic in relation to the Wirth Amendment, which specifically applies, at the federal level, to conditions that must be met for any project to export water from the San Luis Valley. The memo also suggests that that will be a solo effort, stating, “The RWR project is not consistent with the Colorado Water Plan so it likely will not qualify for any state assistance in meeting permit requirements.”

    Many of the points also validated concerns raised numerous times by opponents throughout the meetings, such as “RWR has not yet developed an augmentation plan in sufficient detail”, “there is no unappropriated water available in the confined aquifer for RWR’s proposed pumping” and RWR is presenting an inaccurate picture of how much water is available.

    #FIBArk Whitewater Festival June 16-19, 2022 #ArkansasRiver

    Click the link for all the inside skinny from the FIBArk website.