{"id":1449,"date":"2023-03-03T23:51:29","date_gmt":"2023-03-03T23:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kaleidoscapellc.com\/?p=1449"},"modified":"2023-03-13T15:53:52","modified_gmt":"2023-03-13T15:53:52","slug":"dehydrated-youre-not-the-only-one-winter-watering-your-landscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kaleidoscapellc.com\/2023\/03\/dehydrated-youre-not-the-only-one-winter-watering-your-landscape\/","title":{"rendered":"Dehydrated? You\u2019re Not the Only One: Winter Watering Your Landscape"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re from the Front Range region of Colorado or have lived here for some time, you\u2019ve probably experienced the effects of our arid climate: chapped lips, cracked heels, and desert-dry hands. The lack of moisture in our state is no joke. Chances are, you\u2019re not the only one that\u2019s feeling parched and withered during winter. Your plants are begging to be watered!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Winter watering\u2013to do it or not to do it? This question arises for a lot of homeowners. There can also be the tendency to forget about our plants during colder months, or to assume that dormancy means no watering. We\u2019re here to set things straight. Winter watering is an effective and important aspect of maintaining healthy plants in a Colorado landscape. If you\u2019re from other parts of the country, the idea of winter watering can sound ludicrous, but it\u2019s the reality of living and growing plants in our beautiful, dry state.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Supplemental watering during the fall and winter months is going to be a solid form of defense against drought injury in plants. While Colorado\u2019s vast topography yields a variety of elevations and climatic conditions, the Front Range tends to remain relatively dry with little precipitation, low soil moisture, and vast temperature swings. Additionally, we are experiencing the impacts of climate change and rising temperatures. This has ramifications on the snowpack and hydrology of our entire state. Being a plant in these unique Colorado conditions can be tough! Luckily, proper watering practices (and water management) in our landscapes is one step that will set our plants up for success.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even with proper mulching, extended periods of drought from October through March may leave plants with a higher susceptibility to drought injury and root damage. This can compromise plant health and, in severe cases, result in plant death. Aside from a handful of Colorado natives, most vegetation with shallow root systems, particularly woody plants, will suffer winter damage without supplemental watering. While drought injury can leave visible impacts in the spring, affected plants may also be deceiving, presenting healthy right off the bat. However, with an injured root system, a plant will quickly go through its food storage reserves until it is no longer able to uptake any more water or nutrients, leading to plant death.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing more painful than pouring time, money, and hard work into a newly installed landscape, only to suffer plant casualties that could have been prevented. Because they\u2019re more susceptible to drought damage, newly established plants and turf are extra important to water during winter months. Susceptibility to drought injury increases with windier and Southwestern exposures. Proper mulching can help with moisture retention, as exposed soil areas will expand and contract with swinging temperatures, leaving roots vulnerable to exposure and injury. Water application will also be dependent on seasonal precipitation. The more snowfall, the less watering you\u2019ll need to do.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, maybe you\u2019re reading this and feeling the panic set in. You haven\u2019t watered once this winter. We\u2019re here to assure you that it\u2019s okay, and it\u2019s never too late to start! When we begin to have a deeper understanding of our unique ecosystems and climate, we foster a greater awareness on how to better manage and nurture the landscapes we love. So, where does one begin? An excellent resource and landing point is going to be the <\/span>Colorado State University Extension Fact Sheet 7.211.<\/span><\/a> As a rule of thumb, you should aim to water your plants once to twice a month, depending on snowpack and drought periods. Keep an eye out for those sunnier 40\u00b0F days, and make sure to water in the afternoon.<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to how much supplemental water we give our plants, there\u2019s going to be a lot of factors in the mix. However, a safe place to start is by offering newly established shrubs two gallons of water, twice a month. For larger and more established shrubs (>6\u2019 wide), you\u2019ll bump that average up to eighteen gallons of water per month. For trees, you can safely assume that for every inch of caliper, you\u2019ll need to deliver 10 gallons of water. Be conscious to slowly soak that area so the first 12\u201d of soil becomes moist. Remember, a tree\u2019s root system will, on average, have a spread at least twice the size of the canopy, so you\u2019ll want to water accordingly. Watering directly at the base of a tree\u2019s trunk is not an effective method and could cause potential damage. Be sure to give some attention and hydration to your perennials and turf, as well. Come springtime, your plants will be thanking you with gifts of new growth and blooms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As we mentioned in our <\/span>first blog post<\/span><\/a>, we are blessed with over 300 days of sunshine here in Colorado. There are plenty of opportunities for landscape maintenance and health. It\u2019s time to put your jacket on and grab the hose; the great outdoors is waiting. Quench your thirst for life and enjoy your best landscape with a little hydration. After all, none of us would even be here without water; all living organisms would simply cease to exist. So, let\u2019s give it up for H20, the real MVP. We won\u2019t forget about you this winter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As always, we love that you\u2019ve landed on our page. Thanks for joining us for another week at the Backyard Blog. Happy watering, and don\u2019t forget to drain and roll those hoses up after each use.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

See y\u2019all next week, KALEIDO-Crew.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Warmly,<\/span><\/p>\n

KALEIDOSCAPE\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re from the Front Range region of Colorado or have lived here for some time, you\u2019ve probably experienced the effects of our arid climate: chapped lips, cracked heels, and desert-dry hands. The lack of moisture in our state is no joke. Chances are, you\u2019re not the only one that\u2019s feeling parched and withered during […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[38,41,42,34,37,39,44,20,33,40,43,36,35],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kaleidoscapellc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1449"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kaleidoscapellc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kaleidoscapellc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kaleidoscapellc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kaleidoscapellc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1449"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kaleidoscapellc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1452,"href":"https:\/\/kaleidoscapellc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1449\/revisions\/1452"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kaleidoscapellc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kaleidoscapellc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kaleidoscapellc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kaleidoscapellc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}