If you live along 50th Street, please remember to water the new sod in your boulevard.

Water Those Trees!
Updated July 2, 2008

Due to dry soil conditions, NENA and the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board Forestry Section is encouraging residents of Minneapolis to water their trees. Young and mature trees both are showing severe signs of stress and many are dying due to lack of moisture. Mature trees, especially the American elms and mountain ash trees are more susceptible to disease and pest infection when so stressed.

  What needs water? All trees need watering this summer. Please start by watering newly planted and young trees in both your yard and along the boulevard. Mature trees also need watering, but they will require a different technique.

 Why are our trees in trouble? Currently our soils are very dry for the fourth summer in a row. We are somewhere around 3 inches of rain behind normal.   That lack of rain, high temps, and unusually windy conditions have contributed to the dry soil conditions. If the small feeder roots near the surface dry out, the tree will die. It will take more than a two-inch rainfall to bring the soil moisture back to good growing conditions, so keep watering even if it rains.

 Where and how should I water? Water does not move sideways in soil. You must apply water directly over where you need water in a soil. The most satisfactory means of uniformly distributing an adequate amount of water to a tree is with a garden hose – open-ended for newly planted trees and with an oscillating lawn sprinkler for established trees. Perforated soaker hoses and buckets can also be used, but the results are less satisfactory.

• For young trees, concentrate water over the root ball, as well as the planting area, to assure survival. This is most easily accomplished by creating a circular mound of earth 3 to 4 inches high around the tree at the edge of the planting area (backfilled hole). The mound of earth serves as the dike of a reservoir. When filled, the reservoir will contain enough water to soak the soil of the backfill and the soil contained in the root ball.  If not using a mounded reservoir, water by placing an open-ended hose under the crown of the tree, turn the water on at a slow trickle and water for two (2) hours. If a garden hose is not available, apply at least 10 gallons (two, 5-gallon pails of water) slowly around each young tree every 7-10 days.



• Large established trees can be watered by wetting the soil surrounding the plants roots. This area is known as the “root zone” and it serves as a storage tank from which the tree draws moisture. Most roots of trees spread 1½ to 3 times as wide as the tree’s canopy but not very deep – usually in the upper 6 to 12 inches of soil – depending upon the size of the plant and the type of soil. Shallow or compacted soils can cause shorter and wider root zones. Water the complete root zone each time you irrigate.   Use your lawn sprinkler, so that each time you water the grass around or near a tree, you are applying two inches of water. How do you know when you have put down 2" of water? Place several lidless, soup-sized cans in the radius of your lawn sprinkler. When the average water depth in the cans is 2 inches, you have provided enough water to moisturize soil to a depth of 10-12 inches.

 How often do I need to water? It's very important to water trees once every seven to ten days during the growing season when dry soil conditions exist. 

• Avoid frequent light watering. This promotes the development of shallow root systems that are susceptible to summer heat stress and winter injury. Water infrequently but deeply (at least 6 to 8 inches into the soil) and allow the soil to dry out between applications.

• Be careful not to overwater. Overwatering forces oxygen out of the soil and results in oxygen starvation of roots. This causes root death and leads to the decline of the tree. Depending upon soil texture, bulk density, daily temperatures, and rainfall amounts, 1 to 3 inches of water per week should keep an established tree healthy. Five gallons of water per square yard of surface area is about 1 inch of water.

• Newly planted trees will benefit from daily watering for the first one or two weeks, applying approximately 1 to 1½ gallons per-stem-caliper inch per watering. Thereafter, water trees every two to three days for the next two to three months and then weekly at the same rate until established.

Source materials: University of Minnesota Extension Service and the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board

Mulching Trees
Updated July 22, 2006

  How can I keep the soil moist around tree roots? It is best to maintain a 4-inch layer of mulch (such as wood chips) around your trees. However, do not heap mulch up against the tree trunk. To avoid rot and disease, place the mulch so that it is kept a few inches away from the trunk of the tree.

• Young or newly planted trees should have at least a two foot radius of mulch placed around the trunk of the tree.

• For older trees, a 6-foot or larger radius of mulch is effective and attractive.

  Where can I obtain 'free' mulch? The Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board's Forestry Section makes wood chips available to anyone who can use them. There are three sites in, or near, Nokomis East:

1. Lake Nokomis Parkway site
   On Lake Nokomis Parkway between E 50th Street and 22nd Ave S. (North side of Lake Nokomis.) Wood chips are in a parking lot on the lakeside of the parkway.
2. Bossen Field site
   On E 58th Street between 28th Ave S and 31st Ave S. This site is just north of Crosstown 62 (east of the 28th Ave exit). Wood chips are in the parking lot on the Bossen field side of the street.
3. Wabun Park site
   From the intersection of 46th Avenue S and Godfrey Parkway, travel south on 46th Avenue S and enter the road to the Minnesota Veteran's Home. Wood chips are in a lower parking lot on the west side of the road.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board also has 13 other mulch sites located in neighborhoods throughout the city. For a list of all sites, click here.