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FORGET THE GRASS: WATER YOUR TREES
When summer arrives and
dry spells hit, residents often
bring out their sprinklers to water
their lawns with good intentions
of maintaining lush,
beautiful grass. Unfortunately,
this is an incredible waste of
water at a time when the demand
for water is at its greatest.
Though lawns may look
stressed during droughts, grass
is actually very hardy and will
recover quickly after the first
rainfall.
If it rains at least twice in any
one week, watering isn’t required
for any part of your garden.
Otherwise, during hot summer
weather, water is best used
to water our trees rather than
our lawns. Trees are far less resilient.
Newly planted trees need to
be watered once a week in their
first two years. Place your hose
at the base of the tree, and let
the water run for a couple of
hours.
Mature trees – especially
those 15 years and older – become
stressed during extreme
drought. This makes them
more susceptible to disease and
insect invasions.
Older trees should be watered
during droughts, at least
three times a week if there’s
been no rain. Water them all
night if possible.
However, rainwater is the
most cost-effective and environmentally-friendly way to
water your trees and gardens.
It saves stored clean tap water,
and the energy and expense
required by the city to process
and pump it.
Rainbarrels on the end of your
downspouts are another good
idea, collecting water that would
normally run over hard surfaces
and be lost.
Rain barrels can be bought locally
at Hemp Life Works on
Locke Street (905)-528-6397
and through Green Venture
(905-540-8787).
City trees particularly need
our help. Paved sidewalks,
driveways, roads and parking
lots can direct water away from
trees and increase their stress.
Watering city trees near you
or on your property is a great
way to help city staff maintain
our urban forest in good health.
Bear in mind, however, that
you’re not allowed to prune city
trees. If your city-owned tree needs maintenance, contact the
city forestry department by
calling (905) 546-2424, ext
2489.
4000 TREES!
Over 4000 trees have been
planted this spring in parks and
natural areas in Hamilton as a
result of the initiative of councillors
Dave Braden and Brian
McHattie and their Trees Across
Hamilton program. Many of the
volunteers who helped put the
trees in the ground were subscribers
to TreesHamilton and
participants in Tonnes for Trees
and/or Trees Count.
The tree planting program will
resume in October after the end
of the summer heat and drought
periods, and it is expected that
another 2000 trees will be
added to the above total.
In addition, the City’s street
tree program is funded to plant
5000 new trees this year.
TREE FUNDING
The summer Trees Count inventories
are going ahead because
of generous financial
support from the following
funders: the Protecting Our Environment
Together fund of the
Hamilton Community Foundation,
the TD-Canada Trust
Friends of the Environment
Foundation; the summer student
program of Human Resources
and Skills Development
Canada; and Mountainview
Residents for Recreation in
Hamilton.
The North End Neighbourhood
Association and the Delta
West Community Association
join the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club as co-sponsors of Trees
Count.
Environment Hamilton extends
its sincere thanks for all
of this support.
