Tree irrigation

[MarkSmith]

Hi folks,

We have a mature cherry tree in our (fairly small) garden. Long story short, over the years more and more of the ground around the tree has been covered up - one side is a tarmacced alley, one side is under a car port which keeps the ground pretty dry. The last two years the tree has looked a bit poorly - leaves very droopy etc. I think it's not getting enough water.

Is anyone able to tell me how we can irrigate it? In the absence of better information I'm going to dig a few holes around it and put either watering funnels in, or lay some sort of pipe, according to how much of a nightmare it is to dig around the roots -- but I suspect a bit of knowledge might help do this more effectively.

Advice much appreciated!

Thanks!
-Mark

 

[conny]

I'm not a gardener as such, (have very limited knowledge), but the water funnel idea is certainly a good starting point to see if this improves things. Obviously don't just rely on them filling with rain water, they will benefit from a little help with the hose occasionally.

 

[b3taman]

Easy - buy a couple of standard plastic buckets, preferably in dark green or black so they aren't an eyesore. Dig a bucket sized hole in two areas where you still have open soil , if possible one either side of the tree. Then drill a single small hole (maybe 5mm) at the bottom of each bucket. Put the buckets in the holes, and then fill the buckets with water in dry periods. The water will slowly seep out of the bucket and gradually wet up the surrounding earth.
So, I can hear you're thinking - "Why bother with the buckets?" Well, if you put water straight into the dug holes the water will quickly disperse down crevices in the soil and large areas will remain dry. The water needs to percolate into the soil very slowly. Also, the holes will gradually fill up with leaves and trash - if you leave the buckets in them they can then easily be emptied.
I have used this system several times and I have found it a cheap and easy way to manage the watering of isolated trees. Hope this helps.