Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Winter irrigation?

nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: cutts <cutts@cuttsreviews.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Winter irrigation?
  • Date: Tue, 03 May 2011 09:25:55 -0700

It' a given here in New Mexico that trees may need watering during the winter. Our spring is usually very dry, with little precipitation - the opposite of most places and very frustrating. My sense is that relatively young trees will be most susceptible, as the top layer of soil may dry out, while there is usually moisture retained in the deeper levels.

Jay Cutts

On Tue, 03 May 2011 07:53:02 -0400, Caren Kirk wrote:
I believe that you may be correct about the lack of water over the
winter/ early spring.

About 3 or 4 years ago we had an exceptionally dry period in very early
spring for our area. It is a time wher I had never considered watering
anything in the garden, as, between the usual snow melt and the spring
weather, a lack of water was unheard of. Most plants were still dormant
at that time. But I ended up losing a wide range of plants, including a
young apple tree. I think it might be crucial to have a good water
supply a significant time before bud break and lack of water at that
time can have devastating effects for young or newly established plants.

This of course is only my theory, but to me it makes sense, I wonder if
any research exists to back it up. Ginda seems to have had a similar
experience, and makes an excellent point about the biggest enemy in
winter being drought (think of those cold, drying winds). These days I
pay a great deal more attention to what the conditions are like in early
spring and I am ready with the hose if necessary!

Sorry for your fruit losses,

Caren Kirk
St. Jerome, QC

On 4/30/2011 12:25 PM, Richard L. Wagner wrote:



Last year I planted 50-plus assorted fruits tree (pear, plums,
apples, persimmons, peaches, cherries). All leaved out and looked okay.
THis spring about half did not leaf out and are dead though a dozen or
so are breaking from below the graft. It did not get that cold here.
Lowest temp was about +5F and even that was not on consecutive days.

Last winter was very dry. I never thought about needing to irrigate
dormant trees in the winter but is it possible that a lack of winter
moisture explains so many dead trees?

Richard Wagner
Thayer, MO USDA 6B+

__________________
nafex mailing list
nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subscribe, unsubscribe, change your user configuration or find out more about the list here:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex
NAFEX web site: http://www.nafex.org/

__________________
nafex mailing list
nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subscribe, unsubscribe, change your user configuration or find out
more about the list here:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex
NAFEX web site: http://www.nafex.org/

--
Regards,

Jay

Jay Cutts
Director, Cutts Graduate Reviews
Lead Author, Barron's Test Prep Publications (MCAT)
505-281-0684
800-353-4898




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page