What can flooding do to your trees, even in the winter? Let’s find out.
Although it doesn’t happen often, Maryland can see some intense floods. Take, for example, the flood that devastated Ellicott City’s historic main street district. So you might be wondering, what can flooding do to your trees, even in the winter? Let’s find out.
What Happens?
When the soil supporting your trees is flooding, it begins to drain the available nitrogen. It will only take about two hours for this happen. The roots of trees typically exhale oxygen for us humans to breathe. But when the roots are starting to drown, something miraculous happens. They start to rely on breathing nitrogen instead. You might have already known that fertilizers that encourage your trees to grow already contain nitrogen, and now you know why. The problem is that this is normally a last resort.
What Does Nitrogen Do?
As we mentioned, nitrogen becomes an emergency air source for your trees to draw from when they breathe. At first, a lack of nitrogen would appear to have no negative side effects. But that is actually far from the truth since these consequences would soon follow:
- Little or no growth
- The leaves look unsightly
- It doesn’t grow chlorophyll and has no food
- Fruits and flowers don’t bloom
- The roots begin to die
- The tree itself begins to die
What Should You Do?
Luckily, you have some options to fight off the damages left behind by unexpected floods. One possible method is known as deep root fertilization. One type of fertilizer you’ll need to work this work is known as slow-release fertilizer. It is mixed with nitrogen and any other additives that will help the tree. Then it’s spread over the soil of the tree at high pressures. The roots can be more easily refreshed this way. However, you should call on your friendly neighborhood tree specialists at Nelson to recommend the correct levels of nitrogen.
Tree Care for Every Tree from Nelson Tree Specialist
Nelson Tree Specialist provides specialty arborist services, tree crane services, tree care services, and dead tree removal services. We are well known for our top-notch skills and professionalism. We are members of the International Society of Arboriculture and we are considered certified arborists. We are also an accredited business through the Better Business Bureau and we have great reviews through Angie’s List. To find out how we can help your trees, whether they are exotic and strange or normal and plan, give us a call at (301) 854-2218 (Washington, D.C.) or (202) 909-5662 (Baltimore) or visit us online. For more interesting tree facts and tips, follow us on social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.