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reball517

Lack of Rain

reball517
11 years ago

Is anyone else worried about the lack of rain? I have some plants that leafed out with the heat, now having their leaves shrivel up (Japanese maple, clematis).

Comments (14)

  • PRO
    Nancy Vargas Registered Architect
    11 years ago

    Absolutely, me too!

    I have never had to water this early and it is throwing me off a bit. I think I am going to lose some things I transplanted last fall. I've been out there selectively watering, but wonder if it is too late.

    We are supposed to start getting rain today I think. I am praying for it at this point.

  • spedigrees z4VT
    11 years ago

    We keep having rainy, sleet-y days, but the ground is much drier than it should be. Because it's been cold I see no damage to plants yet, but I worry what summer will be like if the water table stays this low when it heats up.

  • diggingthedirt
    11 years ago

    I saw this described as a "meteorological drought," by which I think they meant just that it hasn't rained as much as usual. I didn't catch the term for the more serious type of drought (geologic?) but the gist was that the water table is just a few inches lower than normal at this time of year - a more serious drought would be measured in feet.

    Not that we don't need to worry, but apparently it's not as serious as it might be. And may yet be.

    Of course, combined with the early leafing out we're seeing, it does seem like watering is needed, if just to be safe. I haven't actually seen anything wilting here, though - I'm more concerned about bud formation, and the effect on flowers later in the season.

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    11 years ago

    I've noticed quite a difference this spring in comparison to a few springs in the past when we had plenty of snow cover all winter followed by the usual amount of rain. My foliage and initial growth is not lush, like it often is in the spring. The Dicentra that are up, are not as thick or full. Lunaria is blooming at less than 12 inches high, and it normally reaches 2-3 ft when it blooms. Pulmonaria and Heucheras are sparse and short. Although, I think the lilac bush is about usual and the Viburnum carlesii is covered in buds.

    I am watering a lot right now and probably didn't start early enough and didn't give enough water, because my arborvitae and juniper have some brown tips.

  • poppa
    11 years ago

    CArrots, which are difficult for me in my sand... still haven't sprouted after two/three weeks. I water a bit but hoping the cool nights have slowed them. Bok choi, peas and spinach have sprouted tho. I'l be happy with those.

  • terrene
    11 years ago

    Yes of course I'm worried! I was going to start a thread about the unusually dry conditions. I have already been watering anything that has been planted or transplanted this spring and also plants that were planted or transplanted that latter half of last year. I even watered a bit over the winter, shrubbery that was transplanted last November and December. They must be watered to get their roots established.

    As soon as we get a decent rain, I plan to start mulching heavily. I am already stockpiling chips from the neighbor's tree work to do so (with his permission of course).

    There is a Fire Watch in our area and I have one more large batch of brush to burn and open burning has been banned in my town for at least a week. Burning season is over on May 1 and I'm hoping it will be allowed again sometime before then. That's only 20 days away and at this rate, it's iffy...

  • pixie_lou
    11 years ago

    I've never been one to do a lot of watering. I kind of have a "survival of the fittest" attitude. However, when I was working outside earlier today, when I went to turn my compost pile, I found that the pile is completely dry. Nothing decomposed over the winter - since it was completely dry. It's like I have a compacted pile of crinkly maple leaves! So now I have to figure out how to get water to the compost pile. It's either connect a couple of hoses. Or else haul buckets of water down there.

  • gardenweed_z6a
    11 years ago

    A red flag fire danger warning was posted over a week ago where I am (north central CT). A few light sprinkles spattered my windshield on the way home from work but the driveway was dry when I pulled in so nothing fell here.

    I am watering but just using a recycled gallon milk jug with a pinhole an inch from the bottom. I fill it with water & set it near one of my astilbes. The water comes out in a thin stream right at the base of the plant so none is wasted. Once it gets down below the pinhole I move it to the next plant and refill it. Astilbes like moist and they're starting this growing season with a deficit. Most everything is well-established so I'm hoping that gives them a shot at surviving this extreme dry spell.

  • terrene
    11 years ago

    Well the town decided to allow burning today, guess that a fraction of an inch of rain was enough to make a difference, so I jumped on the opportunity to finish burning the brush. Who knows if it will be allowed again before the deadline of May 1? I actually dislike burning, it's hot, dirty, and hard work, not to mention it generates air pollution, so it's nice to be more or less finished with this. After 9 years of burning tremendous amounts of brush every year (almost all of it invasive plants), I am now back to the last 50 feet or so of the parcel, and plan to build wildlife brush piles back there with the majority of the remainder of the brush.

    I swear the plants looked noticeably perkier today with just a little rain. No matter how much I water, municipal water just doesn't seem to have the same effect.

  • paigect
    11 years ago

    Yes, we had a spatter or three around here and I swear my plants were two inches taller when I got home. I wonder what this will do to all of my peonies. Several of them seem to have fewer shoots this year.

  • kpaquette
    11 years ago

    Well after 2 days of Forecasted rain that resulted in only a couple of sun showers, I watered this morning. Probably overdue but it didn't seem like things were struggling, for the most part.

  • diggerdee zone 6 CT
    11 years ago

    We had hail yesterday! Of course, it started while I was walking in a parking lot with groceries! Pretty hard fall (ouch!), and I still had bits of ice on my coat when I arrived home 15 minutes later.

    I had heard we had some hail earlier in the day also. So I haven't checked to see how much water we actually received, but at least it gave me a day or two's grace in the watering department. I guess one could say I got a raincheck on having to water....

    Possible shower forecast for Saturday night here. Keeping my fingers crossed.

    Dee

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    11 years ago

    I have been using the sprinkler and stepped it up a bit more this week, when I saw some brown tips on an Arborvitae. Also laid down a new thick bark mulch on some shrubs after watering. Yesterday we had about 20 minutes of a downpour. Enough for puddles on the street and some were still there this morning. So, just a little reprieve, but with more sunny days like today this weekend, that won't last long. Can't wait for an all day soaker!

  • kpaquette
    11 years ago

    Wow - checked on things this morning and I swear my lilies shot up 3 inches overnight! They must have needed that watering!