Drought is hurting the trees.

[muleman]

Just like a replay of last year we are seeing a lot trees start dropping leaves already. The rain we had over the past week has greened up a lot of things but the trees are a warning of overall conditions. The rain we had sure soaked in quick and the creeks show almost no change. Still extremely low and have lots of vegetation growing in them. We need another wet fall like last year or long term we will be in big trouble. The lack of snow really made it bad for groundwater levels. The local spring where a lot of folks get water has slowed to a trickle and it takes almost a minute to fill a gallon jug. That usually takes about 15 seconds. The only produce or corn crops that are doing good are in the creek bottoms. Corn on higher elevations is lucky to be 4-5 ft. tall and is tassled out already. Going to drop silage yields and put a hurt on dairy farmers.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

I really hope for a lot of snow this winter, because you are right.

 

[FrancSevin]

We had a drought last year that almost matched this year's. But the heat this year is far worse making the situation critical for many trees.

Last year, after a twenty year battle with Diplodi, I lost a good Austrian friend who had graced my landscape for over 35 seasons. The heat and dryness was too much for the old fellow.

This Year, I have lost several red but and burning bush. My 40 yer old Holly tree has shed 2/3's of it's leaves and I worry. A white Pine some 60 feet high will not make it despite a weekly soaking. Several Alberta Spruce trees have scalded from the heat, not lack of water, bouncing off the hard scapes.

At the factory, virtually all the landscape shrubs, mostly Yews, have suffered scalding from the heat. Drip irrigation saved the 'Mater's but nothing else in the garden is producing.

I have never seen this long a Bermuda high over the midwest. We desperately need a tropical disturbance in the Gulf. Yeah, we need a hurricane.

 

[EastTexFrank]

After the drought last year and the heat this year I lost a small redbud and an apple tree in the yard and that is being irrigated like crazy in this 105 degree heat. I've got to work on those sprinklers this afternoon. There's about 6 that aren't working properly. Got brown spots starting. Damned well water clogs up the filters in them but it keeps the grass alive ... and the veggie garden.

We're still picking tomatoes, peppers and eggplant but everything else pretty much burned up. I lost some veggies because the automated watering system failed and by the time I noticed it was too late.

I talked to the extension agent and he said that we won't know the full extent of last year's drought for a couple of more years. A lot of the trees that made it through are still stressed. It's turned leaf blowing in to a year round occupation.

 

[muleman]

I know what you are saying Frank. We have been watering all the trees we planted this spring and they are keeping alive but it is taking a toll on them. We are starting to see leaf drops from mature trees and it gets worse every day despite the rain we had. Hot days with a lot of breeze takes a toll on them. We run the sprinklers and it evaporates so bad the ground is barely moist. We have grass clippings mulched around them with some old hay to keep moisture in the ground or they would be fried. Not a good year for gardening at all.