How To Save Your Waterlogged Trees
Trees need water to survive, but too much water will endanger your tree's health. Therefore, if your trees have experienced severe flooding, you need to take measures to help them recover from the effects of too much water. Here are some of those helpful measures:
Build Trenches to Channel the Water Away
If water is still standing at the base of the tree, dig trenches to channel it away. Leaving such water to stagnate for a long time will enable it to seep down into the soil and continue depleting it of air. It also delays the dry up process, ensuring that the tree continues to suffer from the water damage for a long time.
Don't Make Decisions Based On the Top Soil
Just because the topsoil looks dry or doesn't have standing water doesn't mean that your trees aren't suffering from water damage. Depending on the prevailing weather conditions and the slope of the land, the water may have dried off or moved down the slope. After all, the topsoil is more exposed and dries off faster than the deeper soils. Therefore, don't make decisions based on the appearance of the topsoil; dig a little deeper to determine how waterlogged the soil is.
Remove Sediments around the Trees
It is not just the actual floodwater that will damage your trees; the debris and sediments that often accompany flooding will also contribute to the damage by choking your trees. Clear away the sediments at the bases of the trees to return the soil level to its pre-flood level.
Stake Leaning Trees
The floodwater may also uproot some of the trees or leave them leaning. Depending on how far they are leaning, you may be able to save such trees by staking them. However, trees that are completely uprooted should be removed.
Aerate the Compacted Soil
One of the dangers of flooding to trees is that it depletes oxygen from the soil. It does this both by compacting the soil and filling the air pockets in the water. Therefore, you need to aerate the soil so that the trees can get the oxygen they need to thrive. This involves using an aerator on the soil and adding mulch to it.
Young trees are more affected by flooding than their older counterparts, which means they will require more intervention too. Some species are also known to be more resistant to water logging than others. An experienced arborist, like one from Above & Beyond Tree Service Inc, can also help you with the specific measures for helping your trees.