Calgary trees need a good, long drink after a dry winter and spring

Calgary's warm winter and spring has certainly helped fill out our city's lilac bushes and grassy spaces.

But some of our trees are going bald.

"[They've] pretty much leafed out but there's nothing happening at the top," said Jeanette Wheeler, the urban forestry lead for the City of Calgary.

She's been keeping a close eye on all the trees planted on boulevards and in parks, and says the dry weather is starting to take a toll on some of the city's gentle green giants.

"There is a moisture deficit and they're not able to pull enough moisture from the ground all the way up to the top," Wheeler told the Calgary Eyeopener on Monday.

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Water along 'drip line'

If the trees on your own property are looking sparse on top or the bark is brittle, Wheeler said you should water them along their "drip line."

"If you were standing with an umbrella and you wereat the edge of the umbrella and got rained on that would be the drip line," said Wheeler."That's actually where you want to water the tree."

She said it's important to saturate the soil all the way down to the roots, and the best way to that is to water slowly.

The city onlyindividually waters public trees that are five years or younger,so Wheeler saidif you spot any olderonesinyour community that lookreally thirsty you are"certainly welcome" to give them a drink.

With files from the Calgary Eyeopener