There's no doubt about it—this summer is shaping up to be a hot one. According to the North Carolina State Climate Office, this past June was the warmest of the past 6 years, especially for eastern NC, including Raleigh. In fact, June tied for the City of Oaks' 3rd warmest June ever.
On top of being hot, it's also been dry. This June was the driest June on record since 1895.
We've got our ways of beating the heat, and trees have theirs—to an extent. It gets harder for a tree to stay healthy during extended periods of hot, dry weather, which is why this type of weather can be harmful to our trees. It's up to us to protect our trees by giving them a bit more care during these sweltering summer months.
What is tree heat stress?
Heat stress occurs when a tree uses water faster than it can replenish it. Leaves have small pores (called stomata) that they can open and close. Water vapor leaves open stomata through a process called transpiration, which cools the leaves and draws up water from the roots. But in times of drought, trees close some of their stomata to reduce water use. This conserves water but reduces transpiration. As a result, the leaves heat up and water uptake slows, leading to the negative effects of heat stress.
Heat stress can manifest in a variety of ways, but it often involves:
- Wilted foliage
- Pale, dull foliage
- Scorched leaf edges
- Little to no growth
- Drooping branches
- Branch dieback
How to protect a tree from heat stress
What should you do if you've noticed these symptoms in your trees? The best thing you can do to help your trees in times of hot, dry weather is supplemental watering. Watering a tree differs from watering other plants, so we created this Tree Watering Guide to help.
Using mulch is another way to help keep your tree cool. Mulch reduces evaporation from the soil, leaving water for your tree's roots to absorb. It also prevents the soil from absorbing and radiating excess heat.
Turn to Carolina Tree Care for heat stress treatments
If you don't have the time or energy to water your tree yourself, our professionals can help. Carolina Tree Care offers a service specifically designed to keep your trees healthy in the face of summer heat: our heat stress treatment.
This treatment combines humic acids (HAs) with a non-ionic surfactant and is applied to the soil with extra water (compared to our other drenches). Research has shown that HAs, which are naturally present soil components, promote root development, improve soil structure, increase nutrient availability, and expand soil water holding capacity. The non-ionic surfactant serves as a wetting agent and allows the treatment (and future water) to more easily penetrate down to the roots of your tree, a capability that is especially vital when the soil is dry and water-repellent and/or the mulch around your tree is matted.
Get in touch with us today to learn more about this service and schedule it for your trees this summer.
