Sacramento watering rules don’t apply to your trees. Here’s how to care for them in drought

Sacramentans should continue to water their trees regularly despite the city’s watering restrictions on lawns and landscapes.

While residents can only water their lawns and landscapes twice a week during the dry season until the end of October, trees are exempt from this restriction, according to the city.

Why are trees exempt from this rule, and how can I keep my trees healthy?

Why are trees important?

Trees make up a significant part of Sacramento, with the city maintaining around 100,000 trees, said Carlos Eliason, spokesman with the city’s department of utilities.

“It’s a huge part of our landscape,” Eliason said. “They provide a lot of benefits, and we want to keep them healthy during times of drought.”

Some benefits of trees include shade, oxygen, better air quality, less erosion and pollution, and more. In Sacramento, trees provide shade for homes and buildings, helping to reduce energy consumption.

Unlike other plants on lawns, trees don’t grow back as easily, and can take hundreds of years to reach their full maturity, Eliason said. During last year’s drought, many trees died off due to a lack of water.

“Lawns will come back easily year after year,” he said. “But trees — once they’re gone — are harder to replace.”

How to water trees

In order to keep trees alive, the city encourages people to “water trees as much as they need,” which can include watering by hand and frequently.

A common pitfall to tree growth is that sprinklers often do not soak the ground beneath the trees deep enough. Soaking the ground helps them grow and stay alive, Eliason said.

Water should reach 12-18 inches below the surface of the tree, according to the Sacramento Tree Foundation.

The foundation recommends the screwdriver method as one way to know if the ground under the trees is soaked. If it’s hard to push a screwdriver into the ground, it could be time to water.

“If the soil is hard, dry, and crumbly, add water with a slow soak,” the website reads. “If the soil is wet and sticky, allow it to dry before adding more water.”

Here are some ways to keep your trees healthy, according to the city and foundation.

▪ Use a moisture meter to detect if soil is too dry or too wet.

▪ Use the bucket method. Drill a small hole at the bottom of a bucket, fill it up with water and place it at the root of the tree.

▪ Use a “soaker” hose and place it underneath the canopy of the tree. These special hoses have multiple, small holes that will slowly water the area around the roots.

▪ Add mulch to prevent evaporation.

The local nonprofit is also hosting a free “Smart Irrigation for Trees” workshop June 25 at the city’s Department of Utilities headquarters for people to learn more about watering techniques.

The session lasts from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at 1395 35th Avenue. Space is limited, and registration is available on Eventbrite.

This story was originally published June 13, 2022 at 10:46 AM.