Why blog about water. Why not? It is a precious resource that is in short supply this year. Just ask the trees and plants in our landscapes and gardens.   For some reason the recent calls of ‘drought, drought, drought’ have given people an excuse to kill their plants. These are lovely plants that have been getting by for years with little or no water other than that which falls from the sky. This year our sky has dried up. The plants are still expecting a daily drink so they can continue to live. BUT well meaning people hear the word drought and, instead of making sure the very things that need it most get enough water to survive, don’t even give them a drop. Mind you in my area we do not have water restrictions, notices about lawn water or car washing. No public outcry against mindless useless waste of water. This is the first week that the City of Seattle has asked homeowners to reduce the consumption of water by 10 % as a precautionary measure.

Here is a picture of a lovely dogwood growing next to the church. It is at least 20 years old and it is dying. No water.   Leaves are curling and dropping. It really doesn’t need much just about an inch a week around its drip line. The historical significance of this tree should demand its upkeep. We have many historical trees on Bainbridge Island and many are protected from development. However they too are stressed and may be dying from lack of water.

This row of rhododendrons has been planted for several years. They give off oxygen that helps the environment, they have a screening value for the house and there has been money spent on them. To replace them at this more mature size will impact the wallet more significantly than before and help to fill up the landfill. Giving these plants a small drink of water once a week will prevent the waste of these resources.

Don’t even get me started on the parking lots were the sprinklers haven’t been turned on at all and mature trees and shrubs are all dead. New commercial construction projects with re-forestation of disturbed land are also dead. Temporary irrigation heads and hose run by all the native plants but no water is on. You can drive down the road and see mature firs and maples struggling to survive. We can’t do much about the verges of the highway but we can help plants around us live.

Here are a few signs that the plants in your garden or area that you live in are in need of water.

1. Premature leaf drop. No Fall is not here early simply because the leaves are falling off, it is stress. Water it.
2. Evergreens wilting. Rhododendrons, pines, pieris and other evergreens should have leaves at a natural angle. If they are downturned they need water. Water it.
3. Brown tips of plants. Not enough water to get to the end of the branches. The tips die first and the plant shrinks its resources to the middle of the plant to help it survive. Water it.
4.  Lots of cones or seed pods. This means that the tree could be stressed to the point of death. The method of preservation of the species for plants is that if they are stressed they will send out more seeds so the seeds can grow into new plants after the larger tree is dead. WATER IT!
5. Other plants close by are dead. This likely means that the shrub or evergreen may look ok (not great) but will not make it through the winter because the roots are unable to be full and plump with water. Fine hair roots will dry up and go away without water and even when water comes they will have to re-grow to recover. WATER IT!!!

Okay, rant over. Let’s talk about how to water wisely so we are not wasting this precious resource.

1. Water around the root base thoroughly at least one time a week on mature established plants. New plants (less than 2 years old) need water at least 3 times a week. You can use a soaker hose with mulch over it (mulch helps hold the water against evaporation), BUT make sure it is on long enough. The soaker hose has to be close to the plant, the water does not travel like on a sprinkler so if it is more than 1 inch away the plant will not benefit. If it is only on 1 side then only one side of the plant will have roots.

I visited a garden last week where the soaker hose ran down the center of the bed with plants at least 1 foot away and they were all dead. That was a waste of water.

2. Mulch with organic mulch to help retain moisture.
3. Put a small can or bowl out in your garden to measure water, 1 Inch per week during this hot dry summer. A cloudy day does not produce water from the sky, just clouds. Yes, it helps relieve the plant from relentless sun but water is still needed.
4. Use your irrigation system for less time and less often. Change the times and amount of flow to get to the 1 inch mark. If some plants struggle individually give them a little more. They will eventually become less water greedy if weaned off the water slowly.

As I was driving home today I drove by a car lot with a lot attendant hose in hand spraying a rhododendron shrub at the edge of a bed. It was completely brown, leaves folded in death, obviously beyond the help of water. Don’t waste water on plants that look like that. We still have most of August left, all of September and October to go. Often times the warm weather continues until October and sometimes the dryness continues as well. October 2014 broke all records for being the warmest and wettest on record.

OH…. Let’s talk about that. Yes the snow pack is down but last year was the 5^th wettest year on record with a crazy 48.50 inches of rain, 11 inches above normal! Seattle Public utilities held more water in the reservoirs than normal because of the lack of snow pack. I think there is still water in the hills, reservoirs are still holding water and there is still enough water for the plants and us. Let’s Use it wisely.