Nothing adds the same quality and value to a landscape as a healthy mature tree. Trees are so important to our community now and for future generations. The benefits include cooler outdoor spaces and homes, aesthetic appeal, carbon capture, stormwater mitigation, and more. There are some key things to think about when it comes to keeping your tree happy.
The two best things we can do for our trees are simple. We can reasonably and regularly irrigate the trees and apply a layer of organic mulch over the root zone.
The roots of our trees lie in the dry desert soil, waiting for water. In the arid Southwest, our soil also lacks living and dead organic matter. The water that falls on our land falls either infrequently, too little or too much all at once. Still, the plants and trees persist. It is up to us, the human caretakers of these places and trees, to do whatever we reasonably can to provide them with what they need to survive.
Watering Trees:
Newly planted trees (planted within one to three years) are more susceptible to damage from dry conditions and should be watered more frequently than established trees. Aim to water them to a depth of 24 inches three times a month in the fall and twice a month in the winter.
Evergreen trees lose water through their needles in the dry winter air. They need more stored water going into the winter season to make up for that. In addition, cold dry winds can strip water from evergreens faster than their roots can absorb it. That’s why it is especially important to provide enough water in the fall and during dry, warm spells in the winter. Water evergreen trees to a depth of 24 inches twice a month during the fall and once a month in the winter.
Even though they lose their leaves, deciduous trees also should not get too dry in the fall and winter. Water acts as an insulator for both the tree and soil. Soil that stays moist will be warmer. Likewise, plant cells that are plump with water will be less susceptible to damage from the cold. Water deciduous trees to a depth of 24 inches twice a month during the fall and once a month in the winter.
When watering any tree, remember to apply water out to the edge of the tree’s canopy drip line. Most established trees have a root spread equal to their height and beyond. Watering to the right depth depends on your specific soils, so you will want to measure how much water it takes to reach 24 inches deep in your soils.
Since every tree in every yard is different, how often you’ll need to water your trees largely depends on how quickly water moves through the soil. In sandy and gravelly areas (Westside and Foothills), the water passes through the soil quickly, moving past the tree roots. These types of soil need watering more often but with less water each time. On the other hand, the best way to water soil that has more clay in it is to irrigate less often but with more water. This kind of soil holds more water, but that water moves slowly. Be careful not to overwater, especially near the trunk.
How cany you tell how deeply you are watering your trees? After a day, when the water has soaked in, the soil should be moistened about 16-24 inches deep. Poke a thin piece of metal (a long screwdriver or something similar will work) into the ground and see how deep you can push it in. That will tell you approximately how deep the water penetrated the soil.
Adding Organic Mulch to Trees:
Shredded wood chips, which can be obtained from a tree service or a local vendor, are the ideal mulch. No matter what soil type and irrigation pattern you have, putting approximately 3 inches of shredded wood chip mulch directly on the soil does wonders for your trees. As with any mulch, wood chips cover and cool the soil and reduce evaporation. They also reduce weed growth. As the chips decay, they foster the development of a forest-like soil ecosystem with minerals and soil fungi, which is just what tree roots really benefit from. Think of the ground surface in a forest — bits and pieces of old trees, slowly decaying at the surface. Adding a thick layer of organic mulch is the only way to replicate those forest conditions in our urban environments.
What harms a tree? Things that harm the root system (soil compaction, drought, heat, chemicals), things that damage the root flare (stem girdling roots, mowers, construction), things that damage the living rind (wire girdling, kids with hatchets, vehicles) and things that damage leaves (over pruning, certain herbicides, heat). There are feedback loops, especially between the roots and the leaves. Root damage that reduces water uptake leads to leaves making less sugar which means fewer resources to grow new roots. Herbicide damage that deforms leaves leads to less sugar feeding root function as well as less pull on the water, both leading to less water and nutrient uptake going back to the leaves. The life for a tree in Albuquerque is difficult and just one of the aforementioned insults can be the small push which sends a tree into a slow death spiral.
How to Avoid Harming Your Tree:
Protect roots by covering the soil with 3 or 4 inches of shredded wood chips. Avoid cutting roots over one inch when possible; when absolutely necessary, use a sharp, sterilized pruning saw to make a clean cup, cut as few as possible and cut as far from the trunk as possible. Don’t compact soil by dumping gravel or parking on the root zone. Don’t apply herbicides to the root zone, which is larger than the canopy above.
Protect the leaves by avoiding over pruning. Most mature trees don’t need regular pruning, and, in fact, that should be avoided. Pruning takes away energy sources (leaves) and creates energy sinks (wounds that must be dealt with). Excessive pruning can send a tree into a starvation spiral. Prune for specific goals. Avoid herbicides like those found in weed-and-feed fertilizers.
Protect the living rind by taking away Junior’s hatchet. More seriously, don’t tie wires, ropes, and holiday lights around the trunk or branches unless you check them every year to make sure they aren’t girdling the tree.
This tree, recently introduced to the Southwest area, is a large drought tolerant shade tree. Clusters of fragrant flowers appear in May/June when it is swarmed with pollinating bees. It has small deep blue-green leaves that turn yellow in the fall, visually interesting seed pods, gray colored bark, coarse ascending branches and can endure extreme temperatures. The name comes from its seeds being roasted and used as a coffee substitute.
Below are some great gifts for that homeowner who likes to tinker in their yard and also save water. Practical gifts are always in style!
Favorite Garden Books:
A local favorite author, Judith Phillips has been writing garden books for decades. The book is Growing the Southwest Garden, Judith Phillips. “Plant selection and garden style are deeply influenced by where we are gardening. To successfully grow a range of beautiful ornamental plants, every gardener has to know the specifics of the region’s climate, soil, and geography.” This book introduces plant species that will thrive with our changing temperature patterns. The rise in temperatures here in Albuquerque are making it hard for some of the higher elevation plants to survive and thrive. The plants in this book are chosen to last during those irregular years of abnormal temperatures.
Down to Earth, A Gardeners Guide for the Albuquerque Area, Albuquerque Area Extension Master Gardeners. This local favorite is not exactly a quick guide. Quite the opposite, this book dives right into all the details of gardening, from pest management to pruning. If you like to know everything there is to know about growing tomatoes in Albuquerque then this book is for you. It is an extremely thorough guide for growing many of the traditional plants and vegetables you grew up with.
Tree Watering System:
This drip irrigation system attaches to your hose, allowing you to easily water your established trees. The tree gets watered efficiently and directly where the roots need it. The systems comes with 1gph emitters that are spaced every twelve inches. This allows the water to drip consistently and efficiently directly into the ground, deeply soaking the roots of the tree.
Once you have your system installed, a good rule of thumb is to set up a 45-minute run time. To know how often to water, follow the Seasonal Watering Recommendations .
Hose Irrigation Timer:
A timer that attaches to your hose is great for homeowners who aren’t ready to install an in-ground irrigation system and need an inexpensive (under $100) way to water. The hose timer attaches to your house near the spigot. You can then attach a simple polyline irrigation system to it or the tree watering system listed below. You could set up an above or below ground irrigation Polypipe with drip emitters to water all your plants. The irrigation dripline can stay in the ground year-round and be easily connected to an automatic in-ground irrigation system in the future.
Xeriscape Guide and Irrigation Efficiency Guide: Check out the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority’s FREE xeriscape and irrigation guides that you can download for your stocking stuffers.
Description: A New Mexico native tree that grows fast, sometimes up to 4 feet a year. This deciduous tree produces brilliant red-maroon fall color. The leaves then fade to a chocolate brown color and hang onto their branches throughout the winter.
Like all oaks, this tree has deep roots so it can be planted closer to structures than surface-rooted trees like cottonwoods and mulberries. The Chisos red oak can be very long-lived; plant it wisely so generations can enjoy its shade and beauty. In the wild, it is often found on drier hillsides growing in limestone soils. Chisos red oak does best in well-drained soils but also tolerates clay soils with low to regular water. It is both a great shade and specimen tree. Water deeply but infrequently, more in extreme heat. Drought tolerant once established.
The Water Authority’s xeriscape rebate program, and predecessor programs run by the city of Albuquerque, have seen about 12 million square feet of turf replaced over the past 25 or so years. Since 2009, the top five years for program participation were:
This has contributed to a reduction in daily per capita water consumption from 250+ gallons in the mid-1990s to about 124 today. Replacement of turf with desert-friendly landscapes has always been a key component of Albuquerque’s multidecade conservation drive and of the Water Authority’s 100-year management plan, WATER 2120, which was adopted in 2016. Now, we’ve joined other Western water utilities in committing to pursue removal of 30% of remaining “non-functional” turf in our respective service areas over the next several years. That does NOT mean the wholesale removal of cherished green spaces in the name of saving water. Parks, ballfields and children’s backyard play areas are great places to have grass. Parking lots, median strips and emerald-green front yards are often a different story — and their owners may be able to save water and money by voluntarily exploring xeric alternatives.
To qualify for rebates, those alternatives must include landscape plans that are rich in climate appropriate trees, shrubs and plants. The idea isn’t to just pave over a patch of grass, replace it with gravel or let it revert to unsightly weeds. Plants and trees aren’t just pretty to look at: They create shade that reduces the “heat sink” effect — and the demand for water. So, yes, we want to “get off the lawn.” Doing so will help us meet important conservation goals. But we can do it in a way that preserves the benefits that functional turf and green spaces can offer.
Check out some of our recent projects:
Paradise Hills Golf Course
Project timeline: 2011-2022
Total landscape transformation: 1.4 million sq. ft.
Paradise Hills Golf Course (formerly known as Desert Greens Golf Course), a private country club on Albuquerque’s northwest side, had been served since its construction in 1962 by a private water utility charging artificially low, subsidized rates. When the Water Authority acquired the private utility in 2009 and began charging ordinance-based rates, the course’s operating costs increased significantly. With its business model no longer tenable, Desert Greens was in danger of shutting down. Fortunately, help arrived in the form of the Water Authority’s xeriscape rebate program, which Desert Greens used to finance the removal of turf from non-playable irrigated areas. By 2021, the golf course had transformed nearly 1.4 million square feet of turf into xeric landscapes, conserved more than 350 million gallons of water, and — key to the course’s survival — saved over $2 million in water bills. The end result is an aesthetically pleasing, targeted-play course that patrons love — and which can continue to operate at a profit.
Dr. J. Patrick Garcia (APS) Transportation/Education Complex
Plant types: Lacebark elm, escarpment live oak, frontier elm, Oklahoma redbud, crape myrtle, turpentine bush, blue grama, Chinese pistache, catmint
Commercial Office Park
Project timeline: 2023
Total landscape transformation:1,540 sq. ft.
Water savings to date: 83,645 gallons
Rebate amount: $3,080
Total plants: 134
Plant types: Creeping germander, dwarf plumbago, golden columbine, turpentine bush, little bluestem, English lavender, ornamental pear, London plane tree
