We love our trees for shade, fruit production, and beauty. But when we have a drought like this last summer, our trees start shedding leaves early, produce less fruit, and look less healthy. Thousands of people asked Google questions about their ailing trees in August.
Even though we’ve had some rain, it wasn’t enough, and it wasn’t in time. For August alone, here are the top 5 tree health questions and how many people asked. We are all concerned about our trees.
Even though we’ve had some rain, it wasn’t enough, and it wasn’t in time. For August alone, here are the top 5 tree health questions and how many people asked. We are all concerned about our trees.
- Signs of heat/drought stress in trees (14,000-18,000)
- How does Biochar improve soil health & reduce heat stress for trees (10,000-14,000)
- Soil compaction around trees (9,000-12,000)
- Why do I have tree decline without pests (6,000-8,000)
- How to protect young trees in extreme heat (4,000-6,000)
So if you thought you were alone in your concern for your trees, know you’ve got company. Now that we know there is a problem, let’s look at solutions.
Tree Root Health IS Overall Tree Health.
When tree roots are healthy and experience less water stress, the rest of the tree can handle hot, dry conditions better. The above-ground symptoms; leaf drop, branch dieback, or increased pest pressure, are signs of an unhealthy root system.
Roots do three things during a drought:
Roots do three things during a drought:
- Pull water from deeper soil layers
- Store carbohydrates that fuel recovery
- Maintain the tree’s hydraulic system (the internal water pressure that keeps leaves healthy)
If roots dry out, compact, or lose oxygen, the tree can’t move water upward, and irrigation is not enough. Even rain is rarely enough for deep root health. A tree’s allies in maintaining healthy water flow are soil biology. It is an intricate web of soil organisms that cycle nutrients (and water) and support your trees.
Drought doesn’t have to be a major concern. If you focus on maintaining a healthy soil structure that is porous, aggregated, and oxygenated, then roots and microbes can work together to get your tree the nutrients and water it needs.
Arborists say: “The canopy is just a mirror of the root zone.” So, if you’re seeing branch dieback, know you’re also getting root dieback. Now that we know there is a problem, let’s look at solutions. We are going to answer the 2nd most asked question.
How Does BioChar Improve Soil Health & Reduce Heat Stress for Trees?
First, what is BioChar? It isn’t new. Many studies have reported that it benefits soil health.
BioChar is any organic matter that has been heated to a high temperature in the absence of oxygen to create a charcoal-like substance. This process is called pyrolysis, and it results in several end products. One is syngas, which can be used to fuel the process, heat your home, or supply electricity. Another end product is the solid black lightweight product we know as biochar. It is pure carbon, and one of its many valuable properties is carbon sequestration.
When you work BioChar into your soil, you improve soil fertility by increasing water retention, soil biology, and soil carbon. It improves the structure of soil, making it easier for plant roots to penetrate and find the nutrients needed at any time. But BioChar alone is not a fertilizer.
The pyrolysis process results in a pure carbon product. It has to be “charged” with nutrient-loaded organic matter such as humates or compost, which results in a slow-release fertilizer that is also the perfect environment for beneficial soil biology. Those microbes speed up the nutrient cycle, enriching your lawn, trees, flowers, vegetables, and field crops.
The increase in water-holding capacity of BioChar-enriched soil means beneficial soil biology allies can supply water and nutrients to plants in a symbiotic relationship. The plant supplies root exudates to the biology. In return, microbes supply plant-available forms of nutrients to their host plants. The BioChar has a porous structure that is a “microbe reef” in the soil.
BioChar is any organic matter that has been heated to a high temperature in the absence of oxygen to create a charcoal-like substance. This process is called pyrolysis, and it results in several end products. One is syngas, which can be used to fuel the process, heat your home, or supply electricity. Another end product is the solid black lightweight product we know as biochar. It is pure carbon, and one of its many valuable properties is carbon sequestration.
When you work BioChar into your soil, you improve soil fertility by increasing water retention, soil biology, and soil carbon. It improves the structure of soil, making it easier for plant roots to penetrate and find the nutrients needed at any time. But BioChar alone is not a fertilizer.
The pyrolysis process results in a pure carbon product. It has to be “charged” with nutrient-loaded organic matter such as humates or compost, which results in a slow-release fertilizer that is also the perfect environment for beneficial soil biology. Those microbes speed up the nutrient cycle, enriching your lawn, trees, flowers, vegetables, and field crops.
The increase in water-holding capacity of BioChar-enriched soil means beneficial soil biology allies can supply water and nutrients to plants in a symbiotic relationship. The plant supplies root exudates to the biology. In return, microbes supply plant-available forms of nutrients to their host plants. The BioChar has a porous structure that is a “microbe reef” in the soil.
The key phrase here is “increase in water-holding capacity” for the soil around trees and other woody shrubs.
If Irrigation Isn’t Efficient, and Rain Isn’t Enough, How Do I Water?
We wish more people asked this question when they worry about their trees. It matters how you water: slow and steady, and at the tree dripline is best. Tree roots grow toward moisture, so if you put a slow release of water by the trunk, your tree roots will circle and stay shallow.
Shallow roots make a tree unstable in a storm, unable to access deep water, and susceptible to failure in a drought. Place your slow, steady water source away from the trunk so the roots will move out and down.
Watering correctly when your tree is young means you’ll have a healthy tree that can withstand drought and extreme heat when it’s mature. This video shows how to place a water source so your trees receive the most benefit.
What if you have a mature tree? If it is showing symptoms of drought stress, treat it just like you would a young sapling. Place water at the dripline because it may never have developed a good root structure. You can help it now. Adding BioChar soil amendments such as VITAL Blend 5M liquid BioChar gives the soil, the microbes, and the tree roots both active and stable carbon. Active carbon provides immediate fuel for microbes that cycle nutrients and water to your tree. Stable carbon for housing beneficial microbes now, through the winter, and for generations to come.
You can add VITAL Blend 5M, our liquid biochar, to your watering source without clogging any lines, and meter the amount of BioChar and humates entering your tree root zone.
Shallow roots make a tree unstable in a storm, unable to access deep water, and susceptible to failure in a drought. Place your slow, steady water source away from the trunk so the roots will move out and down.
Watering correctly when your tree is young means you’ll have a healthy tree that can withstand drought and extreme heat when it’s mature. This video shows how to place a water source so your trees receive the most benefit.
What if you have a mature tree? If it is showing symptoms of drought stress, treat it just like you would a young sapling. Place water at the dripline because it may never have developed a good root structure. You can help it now. Adding BioChar soil amendments such as VITAL Blend 5M liquid BioChar gives the soil, the microbes, and the tree roots both active and stable carbon. Active carbon provides immediate fuel for microbes that cycle nutrients and water to your tree. Stable carbon for housing beneficial microbes now, through the winter, and for generations to come.
You can add VITAL Blend 5M, our liquid biochar, to your watering source without clogging any lines, and meter the amount of BioChar and humates entering your tree root zone.
How Do You Avoid Tree Health Issues with the Next Drought?
Prevention is so much easier than solving a tree health problem in crisis mode. Everything starts with the soil. Build a good soil structure around your tree, shrubs, and any other plants you value. Isn’t that all the plants in your landscape or the crops on your farm?
Avoid soil disturbance, maintain soil cover with mulch or plants, and avoid bare soil to retain water and keep beneficial soil microbes in their comfort zone. Most soil microbes begin to experience serious stress when the soil gets to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s the equivalent of beach sand on an 85-degree day. If it hurts to walk barefoot, it’s too hot for microbes.
Add soil amendments that improve soil structure for the long haul. Biochar improves soil fertility by increasing water retention, soil biology, and soil carbon. Its porous structure acts like a “microbe reef,” holding moisture and microbial allies around fine feeder roots.
Avoid soil disturbance, maintain soil cover with mulch or plants, and avoid bare soil to retain water and keep beneficial soil microbes in their comfort zone. Most soil microbes begin to experience serious stress when the soil gets to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s the equivalent of beach sand on an 85-degree day. If it hurts to walk barefoot, it’s too hot for microbes.
Add soil amendments that improve soil structure for the long haul. Biochar improves soil fertility by increasing water retention, soil biology, and soil carbon. Its porous structure acts like a “microbe reef,” holding moisture and microbial allies around fine feeder roots.
When Should You Start Preventative Tree Health Care?
Fall is the best time to prepare your soil and your trees for winter. Microbes don’t hibernate, and neither do trees. They shift into low-metabolism maintenance mode:
- They continue slow respiration
- They use stored carbohydrates to maintain cell integrity
- They repair micro-damage from cold stress
- They keep root hairs viable so they can respond quickly in spring
And to do all this, trees need a strong root system. Long-term tree health resilience comes from healthy soil and active microbes. BioChar is the foundation that makes soil amendments more effective.
Contact us to find out how our BioChar products can help you save your drought-stressed trees. Now’s the time. With the right watering technique, mulch, and soil amendments, they will leaf out just fine next spring.
Contact us to find out how our BioChar products can help you save your drought-stressed trees. Now’s the time. With the right watering technique, mulch, and soil amendments, they will leaf out just fine next spring.
