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Conditions remain very dry…

Conditions remain very dry and substantial rain is not in the forecast in the near future .  Visible drought stress is beginning to show up on trees, shrubs, perennials, and lawns.  Rainfall since August 1 is about half of normal, with half of that total falling on August 4.   It is best to water one to two inches at a time, once every seven to ten days in the absence of rainfall.

Stations:
OH-HM-5
Cheviot 0.9 SSE
Lat: 39.144789
Lon: -84.607845
* indicates Multi-Day Accumulation Report
Station         OH-HM-5
Date Precip
08/01/2009 0.00
08/02/2009 T
08/03/2009 T
08/04/2009 T
08/05/2009 1.27
08/06/2009 0.01
08/07/2009 0.00
08/08/2009 T
08/09/2009 0.00
08/10/2009 **
08/11/2009 **
08/12/2009 **
08/13/2009 **
08/14/2009 **
08/15/2009 **
08/16/2009 0.29 *
08/17/2009 0.00
08/18/2009 0.02
08/19/2009 T
08/20/2009 0.01
08/21/2009 0.03
08/22/2009 0.00
08/23/2009 T
08/24/2009 0.00
08/25/2009 0.00
08/26/2009 0.00
08/27/2009 0.00
08/28/2009 0.00
08/29/2009 0.03
08/30/2009 0.00
08/31/2009 0.00
09/01/2009 0.00
09/02/2009 0.00
09/03/2009 0.00
09/04/2009 0.00
09/05/2009 **
09/06/2009 **
09/07/2009 **
09/08/2009 1.00 *
09/09/2009 0.23
09/10/2009 0.00
09/11/2009 0.00
09/12/2009 0.00
09/13/2009 0.00
09/14/2009 0.00
09/15/2009 0.00
Totals : 2.89
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How do I water and how often?

Since many areas missed much of the rainfall this week, a review of proper watering procedures is in order.

New trees and shrubs are particularly stressed by moisture extremes (wet and
dry) due to having a number of roots cut at planting time.  Please observe
the watering recommendations printed below.  Improper watering can harm
trees and shrubs and void new plant warranties.

No matter what type of sprinkler you chose, or if you use a sprinkler
system, it is essential that you measure the water applied. In the
Cincinnati area, in areas with clay soil, it is best to water one to two
inches at a time, once every seven to ten days in the absence of rainfall.
This schedule should be adjusted to account for variations in temperature,
natural rainfall, exposure of individual plants and the water needs of
individual plants. Do not locate plants together if their water needs are
dissimilar.

Watering sprinklers and rain gauges are available from the Arbor Doctor store online here.
More localized rainfall totals my be found here and here.

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Wet here, dry there: an important lesson

Monday, I was amazed to find out just how spotty recent rains have been.  Just a few miles from my over-worked rain gauge I found a dry landscape and a tree which needed water.

Particularly heavy rain passed over my location recently, resulting in the following very impressive but hardly representative rainfall totals:

3 day rainfall last week: 3.28
July rainfall: 6.94
June-July total: 12.17

Monday, I looked at a tree in Cleves, OH, just a few miles west of my location.  I had to dig some dirt away from the base of this relatively young Kousa dogwood.  It had been planted a little too deep.

The soil was bone dry down to several inches.  I had seen a couple CoCoRaHS rainfall reports near Cleves which were substantially lower than at my house.  Apparently Cleves missed much of the recent rain.  I can confirm that much of the heavy rainfall I received was from small cells which did not cover a large area.

The take home message:  You cannot rely on the rainfall at the airport or at other reporting stations to determine how much rain fell in your yard.  You must have a rain gauge and keep track of what falls in your yard.  Click here to find Arbor Doctor’s rain gauge selection.