I’ve got a tree that doesn’t look happy. Is it a cedar? A fir? Look, I’m not a doctor. I don’t know exactly what it is. But it’s safe to say it’s an evergreen. And it is right now so laden with ice that its lowest branches are drooping to the ground. Now then. My backyard thermometer reads 34. So I got my garden hose and sprayed some of the boughs, thinking that the warm(er) water would melt the ice. But I didn’t see much difference.
Question: good idea? Or am I going to wake up tomorrow to an even sadder tree?
20 comments
If it has survived long enough to grow, it will probably be able to survive this ice storm. Spraying more water on it was a terrible idea, though. The limbs are hanging because it has too much water on it. This post is hilarious. I suggest melting the ice with a hairdryer. Please send pics.
Tim, you’re watering your trees…in pitch black darkness? 34 degree weather? During the second half of a tight UT-Ohio State Fiesta Bowl?
I’m not sure a tree doctor is in order.
I had a neighbor once, and she had a tendency to edge and fertilize at night, usually after 11:00. We visit her now and again, at Tudor Nightmare Village.
I missed the ENTIRE UT-OSU game(on TV) because my home was without power. Luckily, 1080 KRLD carries the Longhorn Radio Network. Pathetic to have to listen to it on a walkman.
Pretty sure one of my neighbors sat out in his car for 3 hours listening to it.
So pissed.
Hook Em!
jackson: tim is not smart, and he is not a sports fan
If your tree is iced over and the thermometer reads 34 degrees, it may be time to buy a new thermometer.
zing.
Tree-murderer!
Did you see the city fire department running around hosing down trees to clear the ice? Since it was over freezing, I’d say your tree is fine. But please don’t do this again. Those trees are engineered through millions of years of evolution to cope with ice. They’re designed to take that load to a point.
Homeowners with water hoses are another thing.
Thanks for all the kind words and support. Whether my watering helped or not, I’m unsure. But the tree survived the night.
@ Brandon: that was the odd thing yesterday. Temps were in the 33 to 34 range. But ice was still clinging to the trees.
@ Eric: I watched the game. And I hate you (even though it’s not nice to hate).
Just like you have to be careful on bridges and overpasses when it is slightly above freezing trees are the same. What you did is the equivilent of taking a fire hose to a bridge when it is 33 degrees outside in order to melt the ice.
Hey Tim, that makes sense, If I find my tree on fire, Ill throw matches on it.
Oh snap-crackle! Actually, there is probably no damage to what is probably an Eastern Red Cedar if native, any of a number of possibilities if not native, tree. Damage would be obvious and evergreens tend to be more flexible than deciduous trees. Pre-watering prior to freezing weather can have some benefit to a tree’s resistance to cold weather but would only be needed on sensitive or non-natives.
@ D: Follow my thought experiment. It’s 33 degrees. The bridge has a layer of ice on it 1/4 inch thick, due to a day’s accumulation. You get a fire hose that sprays water at 50 degrees. Won’t that water melt the ice? I don’t think it’s the no-brainer you suggest.
Oh, and the spelling is arborilogical, BTW.
As soon as it warms up, I am so coming right through your front window.
Oh, and no more use of offensive terms like “evergreen.” We’re chlorophyllically robust.
@Tim’s Tree
Gymnosperm is the botanical term…have fun with that while “coming through the front window.”
@ Bill – I’m pretty sure every restaurant (no smoking!) and/or bar (smoking!) in Dallas (and the entire country for that matter) was showing the Fiesta Bowl… So a quick trip from HP to, say, TGI Fridays on Central would have done the trick. With cheese sticks and a coke. Just something to think about next time.
This sounds like the kind of idea around my home that I come up with after my 4th martini and then later greatly regret while trying to justify to myself why it seemed like such a great idea after the 4th martini.
As a native New Englander, I can tell you those evergreens can survive -10. Coating them with more water might cause some branches to break from the weight, but they’re all extremely hardy.
They grow on mountains, fer Pete’s sake. (Vermont is the Green Mountain State, and that green isn’t money.)
If the thermometer read 34, why wasn’t the ice melting on its own?