water your street trees

I'm up early, listening to Judee Sill's first album, sipping coffee, and watering street trees. The one on my block has been holding up okay since it was planted last year. When it was planted they installed a Tree Gator and filled it with water. And then a while passed and I began filling the bag with water before hot summer days using empty juice containers filled up at the kitchen sink. To this date my technology has only advanced as far as a brown bucket that I can fill up in the tub which I still have to haul outside and down to the tree. But that's fine if it takes me a little time, I know there's no such thing as a free lunch. Secretly I hope that I will find some other early risers and help educate them about the importance of watering their street trees. Via my old job I was a member on the advisory council for the Million Trees NYC initiative so I do want the mission and the trees to survive. Their benefits to the city we probably don't even entirely know, but we know they improve quality of life mentally and physically in a major way and are therefore a total necessity.

Young trees like the 3"+ caliper trees being planted around New York City will require a lot of water in the next few years to establish their roots and get situated in their new environment. Water needs can vary depending on the species of tree, of course, but in general these youngsters need about 25 gallons a week, over a steady and spaced time period. Unfortunately this is something that most people in the city don't know about. I was on bucket #3 on the first tree when a woman stopped while walking her two black dogs. She said it was nice that I was watering the tree and I nicely spewed a few digestible facts her way. She was appreciative, we nodded and smiled at each other in conclusion, and she and the dogs continued on.

Between tree number one and tree number two I was emptying gardening tools out of the car and scoping out the laundromat (which is really where I should be right now), walking back behind a couple. The woman asked the man if they were ever going to remove "those bags". I didn't realize that most people have no idea what a Tree Gator bag is.
I had to chime in. "Hopefully not, people should put water in them during the summer to help the trees live", I began. I put down my bucket of soils and sand and lopers to show them the little drip emitters protected in the bottom folds of the bag. I explained that in the two years in a new spot supplemental water is a must for trees to survive and I showed them where you fill it at the top and how easy and helpful a device it is. The guy in the Hawaiian shirt asked the right question, "so we should fill these with water?" "Absolutely", I replied, "we should all chip in and educate each other." Spring and fall trees are the most active so making sure the roots stay hydrated and aerated is important. Of course in summer when we have long dry spells the trees will benefit from a drink as well. I could tell they were at capacity for this little impromptu arboriculture lesson. We wished each other a good day and went our separate ways. I smiled to myself. By 8:11am I've already got three people on board. A good start to the day.
So the moral of the story is simple. If you have a new street tree near you help keep it watered this summer and next, and learn to care for it in the years to come. If you have neighbors here in the city educate them about the importance of street trees. They will improve your life. If you want to learn more about Million Trees NYC and the benefits of tree canopy coverage in our urban jungle go to milliontreesNYC.org

Now I really better get back to that laundry. eh. Thanks to the foxy Felis Femina for letting me upload these images on her computer.