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Just found out how much a single mature oak can drink in a day
I was reading an old forestry journal from the library and saw a fact that made me stop. A big, healthy oak tree can pull up over 50 gallons of water from the ground on a hot summer day. That's more than a standard bathtub full. I always knew trees needed a lot of water, but seeing that number really put it in perspective. It makes you think about how important the soil and root zone are, especially during a dry spell. I'm used to thinking about structure and safety, but this got me looking at irrigation plans for some younger trees on a job site differently. Has anyone else come across stats like this that changed how you plan for tree care?
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susanm2214d ago
Holy cow, that's a crazy number! @wadeyoung is right about the roots spreading far, but a lot of people get the shape wrong. They don't go super deep, they mostly spread out wide and shallow, like a big plate under the ground. That's why watering way out at the drip line is so much better than right at the trunk.
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wadeyoung14d ago
Yeah, that number is wild, isn't it? It really hits home how much work they're doing just to stay alive. I remember feeling the same shock when I learned how far out the roots actually spread. It makes you look at a patch of dry, compacted dirt under a tree and just feel for the thing. How do you even start to water a young tree enough when you know what it's trying to become?
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