Well it is finally official. We are back in drought again. They are expecting something similar to the drought we had year before last. I am hoping that we take the worst of it this winter and it eases up by summer. However, this article suggests we should hope for a strong hurricane season to save us. They said this is a pattern that Central Texas has been stuck in since 2004. 18 months of drought, 6 months of rain, 18 months of drought and so on. I hope this does not become a permanent cycle for this area.
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/central-texas-in-drought-again-1129613.html
Drought Again!!
Ouch! Heard LaNina would give us a drier, warmer winter this year. Won't help drought at all. Fingers crossed things even out.
The original forecast was for winter but it looks like they may be extending it now.
Winter I can handle. Summer I can not.
I guess I will be watering my newly planted perennials this winter. I agree if there has to be drought winter is better than summer.
C
We're still planting trees and shrubs. I'd honestly rather have the rain now, and then they would be well-established as they go into the summer, when they weren't planning on doing much growing anyways. But for some reason the weather didn't ask my druthers...
Most trees are dormant now anyway so they wont be growing until spring. Root growth is minimal at best during the winter. It wouldnt do you any good. If you had planted in Fall, you would have had some time to establish. You might get some root growth on evergreens.
No, they're not dormant. The deciduous ones haven't even all managed to lose their leaves yet.
Even in a normal temperature year, it doesn't get cold enough here that trees don't require water in the winter, as the roots are still growing. I guess I'm surprised that it does for yall further south, even accounting for our urban heat island.
The point of caring for trees in the winter is that they don't enter the spring stressed, but rather relaxed and plump and ready for a burst of growth. And of course for young trees and shrubs, you especially want them to establish with a good root structure, not one stunted by lack of water. The typical recommendation here is a good soak every two weeks during cooler weather, rather than every one as during warm weather. If we were having normal ("normal") weather, that would just get taken care of by rain.
Even up here, if the winter is mild, my Rose of Sharons and rose bushes are still active. Much more slowly, of course, :-) but they aren't completely dormant. (Have Gizmo, Opening Night, and a miniature yellow rose all blooming now, plus Scabiosa and White Swan Echinaceas.) Going out to water in a little while--we haven't seen any rain, either. LOL
I guess it depends on what you are planting. I know that when I receive bareroot fruit trees in January for planting, they do not produce any new root growth until Spring. You can put them in a giant pot with the best soil and keep it moist in January but if you pull it out in early March before budding, there is zero root growth.
These are fully dormant when i receive them but I am getting them from California which is probably still pretty warm like us.
On the other hand, I repotted some Pineapple Guava about a month ago and they produced tons of roots since they are evergreen.
In the end, I would always prefer a dry winter where I only have to water once every two weeks than a dry summer where I would have to water every few days on established plants.
Meeee, too.
RAIN!!!!
Woohoo!
Seconded and doubled!!!!! Merry Christmas to us! :-)
Woohoo here, too!
We got some rain too but not much, however much better than nothing.
Ditto in Brady; some but probably not much, better than not tho.
I got lucky. Good thing because I've had 40 bulbs on my porch for the last two weeks. Was planning on getting to them this weekend, so the rain will sure help.
Well, we got 7/8 of an inch so that is not bad.
Felt like more but at least things got some water.
Still raining here...
50 percent chance for more on Tuesday.
Ya-hoo! Hope it hits up this way, as well.
Thought I had about an inch in my rain gauge and then realized that the gauge on my funky little combo weather vane, thermometer and rain gauge catches drips from one of the "arms" on the vane! Drats!
Big rain event is supposed to start tomorrow. We have an 80 percent chance tomorrow night.
GOOD LUCK!!!
we have had an usually mild winter..only we got a freeze over this past weekend (Christmas)...we have had a little rain also but I agree I would rather have winter than summer when it comes to being in Texas!! hahahaha
JuJU if it is raing down there as much as it is in SE Okie then the drought is over we are 13 hours into a steady rain event...
Wow!! 2 inches here, and thank God for it.
Yep and more this morning, too.
It rained here for 30 hours and we received about 1/10th of an inch. It was only drizzle the whole time. Hey, I will take it.
We got A LOT of rain yesterday!! ALL day in fact & right through the night..I didn't get an accumalation amount though...but.. I too am glad we got the rain!!