With the current warming trend that continues through the month of January, you want to make sure that your Denver landscape, including your perennials, shrubs and trees are getting enough moisture. At the end of 2012, our plants went into dormancy with a little added stress from the hot summer and lack of moisture. As the drought continues, your landscape needs YOU to maintain a healthy and disease free garden.
Some watering tips:
Make sure the ground is not frozen and that the air temperature is at least 40 deg.
Use garden hoses with a fixed spray attachment and let the water spray your plants, make sure your check it and move its placement every 10 minutes to prevent water runoff. You want the water the root zone of plants, typically 6 to 8” depth.
Use deep root watering wands that attach to garden hoses for watering trees. This method gets water directly down in the root zone and waters within the ground and upward. Switch locations every 1-2 minutes and move to a different spot within the drip zone.
Make sure to detach hoses when you are finished watering to prevent freezing hose faucets.
Cover planting bed areas with 2-3” depth of mulch to help retain moisture through the winter and into the spring season.
These are just a few ways to maintain a healthy landscape through this difficult, long lasting drought.