Make sure your thirsty trees get a drink every week!

Trees that are less than 5 years old require at least 15 gallons of water, approximately 1 inch of rainfall, per week to survive. Extremely hot and dry conditions will quickly zap the life out of trees, especially those that are newly planted.

• Water your trees in the evening after 9 p.m., or in the morning before 7 a.m. to prevent evaporation and usage during peak times.
• For small trees, at least once a week fill a 5 gallon bucket three times and slowly pour water around the base of your tree.
• Position your hose at the base of your tree set on trickle for one hour to get the recommended 15 gallons, once a week.
• For larger, mature trees or trees with visible signs of stress—loss of leaves or yellowing foliage—use a water conserving drip hose around the drip lines of your trees, watering very gradually once a week for a 24 hour period.
• Or, a standard hose set to trickle under each of the four quadrants of the drip line; about 60 gallons for every 10ft. x 10ft. section. Be sure to periodically check the hose to monitor and be mindful of how much water you’re putting out, and that the drip line is receiving proper saturation.

Helpful How To's

Click here to learn about how to care for trees during a drought

Click here to learn about how to water trees with a garden hose

Click here to learn about how to water trees with a soaker hose

Click here to learn about how to water trees with a 5-gallon bucket

Click here to learn about how to mulch your tree properly
 

Please remember to water your trees

If you are unsure when to water your trees, follow our weekly watering recommendations from May through October. Each Tuesday we consult the previous week’s precipitation to determine the condition—Normal, Dry or Severe—and appropriate action to take. Watering recommendations are posted on our homepage, Facebook and Twitter accounts.

• Normal: Watering this week is optional—15 gallons to a tree. Some precipitation is scheduled in the upcoming forecast, but keep a lookout for hotter and drier days ahead when trees will really need extra watering.
• Dry: Watering this week is highly recommended. Conditions will not reach the recommended 1 inch of rainfall, so look out for trees that need water. Trees need 15 gallons of water per week to thrive, and young trees—less than 5 years old—are especially in need of water.
• Severe: Watering this week is extremely important. Conditions are well below the recommended 1 inch of rainfall. Trees need 15 gallons of water per week to thrive, and young trees—less than 5 years old—are especially in need of water. Avoid short, frequent watering of trees because this usually does not penetrate deep enough into the soil, and only encourages roots to grow toward the surface.

Click here for tips for watering. Tweet @kibiorg with the hashtag #thirstytrees or send us a message on Facebook to let us know how your watering efforts are going.

Take the KIB Watering Pledge!

Will you pledge to water your trees, and help support our efforts to water trees in Indianapolis? For a donation of $10, KIB will be able to provide 30 gallons of water for Indianapolis trees! Additionally, KIB will send you a reusable, BPA free water bottle to thank you for your support.

Your donation supports our NeighborWoods program—an initiative to plant 100,000 trees in Marion County. If you would like to join us for a volunteer project, visit our calendar; and thank you for keeping Indianapolis beautiful!

Click here to help us water trees with your $10 donation!

We're in a drought, please help out! Spread the word about the importance of keeping trees watered during these extremely hot temperatures. Tweet @kibiorg with the hashtag #thirstytrees or send us a message on Facebook about why you took the pledge. You can also earn points through Cause.it by reminding others of the need to keep their trees watered.