Can be viewed at http://www.indiana-arborist.org/teleconf/12-14-06treeworkersafety.asx

June 16, 2005 -- LISLE, ILL. -" Homeowners should be watering their trees and shrubs, not grass," says Edith Makra, Community Trees Advocate at The Morton Arboretum. "Though grass turns brown and looks like it is dying, grass actually copes with drought quite well - it goes dormant and will turn green again when water is available. For water conservation, it is best to not water your lawn at all. Trees, on the other hand, will show subtle signs of drought, just wilting or dropping leaves. However, they can be seriously injured or die without water."

Here are some drought-readiness tips from The Morton Arboretum:

- Depending on air temperatures, trees and shrubs need at least 1 inch of water applied every week to 10 days to cope with lack of rain. Larger, established trees have a wide-spreading root system and need not be watered as frequently, perhaps every 2 to 3 weeks. Let the top few inches of soil dry out between waterings to avoid saturation and to allow roots and soil organisms to breathe.
- Water slowly and deeply so water percolates down into the soil, electing one or two deep waterings as opposed to several light ones.
- Use soaker hoses and drip irrigation -- effective watering tools because they discharge even streams of slow, trickling water directly to the root zone beneath trees and shrubs. When combined with a 3 or 4-inch layer of organic mulch, plants can use nearly all of the water that's provided with little evaporation loss.
- Another effective means of watering a small tree is letting a hose run slowly at its base until the ground is moist. For large trees, let the hose run at various points around the tree's drip line – the imaginary line on the ground that encircles a tree's extended branches.
- Water shrubs at the plant base and under the spread of branches until soil is moistened to a depth of 6 to 8 inches.
- When using a sprinkler system, place a container nearby to measure when you have distributed 1 inch of water to the soil.
- Plants vary in their ability to tolerate water stress. Prioritize watering, caring for newly transplanted trees and shrubs first, then those that have been in the ground from 2 to 5 years and have under-developed root systems. Next, water "specimen" trees or important trees, then all other plants.
- Water strategically. Plants absorb more water in the early morning, before the warming sun can cause evaporation.
- Place barriers or wind screens near plants to slow wind movement, which causes considerable evaporation and moisture loss. But do not locate screens too close to plants – this traps heat and promotes evaporation.
- Avoid using fertilizer during drought conditions. Fertilizer salts can cause root injury when soil moisture is limited.