Make sure the trees you’ve already planted are getting enough water. Generally, a tree of 1 inch caliper (1 inch trunk diameter) requires about 10 gallons of water every week.  Because newly planted trees have lost root mass from being moved from a nursery, compounded by the shock of being moved, they need frequent and deep watering.  This helps to keep water deep below the surface which guides the regenerating roots downward into the soil.  Deep watering to a depth of at least 12 inches or more is recommended. Most of a trees’ roots are located within the top 2 to 4 feet of soil. Water should be applied directly over the root ball for newly planted trees.

Just as with all watering in the heat of summer, its best to water early in the morning or throughout the evening and night to reduce the loss of water to evaporation.  Avoid watering between 9am and 7pm.  It is also a great idea to protect your trees by having mulch around the base of the tree to retain moisture and deter mowers from damaging the trunk.  Trees have deeper roots than your lawn, meaning they can draw water from deeper in the soil and end up needing 25-50% less watering than your lawn.  For more tips on summer watering and care, visit Water Wise Utah and the Arbor Day Foundation websites.

Join TreeUtah and REI on June 1st to celebrate National Trails Day! We’ll do some restoration, invasive weed removal, trail and trash cleanup and more. The morning will begin at 8:30 with a free light breakfast and registration. Tools will be provided. Please be prepared with proper clothing, close toe shoes, a hat, work gloves,  a re-fillable water bottle and sunscreen. We’ll work until noon and then enjoy a free light lunch at the site. Open to all ages. Please contact us if you wish to bring a group of children as there must be enough adults to supervise. REI shirts will be available to volunteers while supplies last.

Pre-registration is required here.

Park by the baseball fields on the east side of Lester Street and look for our tree planting flags!  http://goo.gl/maps/1PAzR

Please contact Volunteer Coordinator Hannah Whitney at volunteer@treeutah.org or (801) 364-2122 with any questions.

Get your rain barrels today! Rain barrels are a great way collect and store rainwater from your roof that would otherwise be delivered to storm drains. These rain barrels can be used to irrigate your trees and plants when they need it most – during the hottest days of the year. In fact, for every 1,000 square feet of roof area, 600 gallons of water can be collected with just an inch of rain. Saving water not only will help your trees but protect the environment and save you money!

TreeUtah’s rain barrels are 35 gallons. They are made from recycled syrup concentrate drums that were donated to TreeUtah by Swire Coca-Cola. Each rain barrel was hand assembled by the TreeUtah staff.

Rain barrels are just $50 — proceed go to TreeUtah and our efforts to plant trees across the state. To purchase a rain barrel, please contact TreeUtah at 801.364.2122 or visit the Earth Goods General Store (900 East 1300 South).

Rain Barrel Trips:

– Do not use rain barrel water for cooking, drinking, pets or recreation.

– You can paint your rain barrel. Prime first with plastic primer before painting. Plastic paints are recommended but you can also use acrylics if you r seal it with a coat of varnish.

– Do not collect rain if you use moss killer on your roof.

– Disconnect rain barrels in the winter months (so the water won’t freeze).

– Multiple rain barrels can be connected together for greater water storage, and drain hoses can be attached for removing overflow.

Installation:

Rain barrel installation kits can be made or purchased online from

a number of retailers including www.rainbarreldepot.com (use “CRWC” code to receive Coca Cola Watershed Group Partner pricing).

Law:

Rainwater collection that is used for gardening purposes is finally legal in Salt Lake City. Residents can collect and store up to 1,000 gallons of rain water above ground.

Celebrate spring and plant a tree on Tuesday, May 7. Stop by the water conservation garden (located at 11th Avenue and Terrace Hills Drive) anytime between 3 and 6 pm. Whether you have one hour to give or three, all efforts will help to improve the beauty and diversity of the special site. All ages welcome, no experience necessary! RSVP required to  savannah.wake@slcgov.com.

To learn more about Water Week and other events that you can participate in click here.

Thursday, April 25th the place to be is Cactus & Tropicals with TreeUtah. Attendees will be eligible to win special door prizes and receive 10% off everything at Cactus & Tropicals.  Enjoy beer, wine, appetizers, music and more, as well as to being able to mingle with community members, TreeUtah staff, and volunteers.

You can register online or by call in the TreeUtah office at 801.364.2122. We look forward to seeing you on the 25th!

REGISTER NOW

Cactus & Tropicals will also donate 10% of the sales from that night to TreeUtah.

If you’re looking to plant a new tree in your yard this spring or need a few pointers on caring for your established trees – this is the workshop for you! Join TreeUtah at Cactus & Tropicals Draper with speaker JayDee Gunnell from the Utah State University Extension Program. JayDee is a Horticulture Agent for USU Extension and is currently developing a demonstrational tree arboretum at the Utah Botanical Center in Kaysville, which focuses on water use of different tree species.

During this workshop we’ll be discussing:

• tree selection;
• how to find the right place for your new tree;
• proper planting techniques;
• care for newly planted and established trees.

Please register in advance for this exciting and informative workshop. A $10 donation is suggested for workshop participants. Click here to register!

After successfully planting TEN large Cottonwood trees at the Kennecott Nature Center on Tuesday with students from Murray High School, TreeUtah continued its partnership with AT&T and the Utah Jazz by cheering on the Jazz and our new planting team, the Jazz Dancers and the Jazz Bear!  We can barely put into words how much this $10,000 donation from AT&T means to TreeUtah.  It will help us make leaps and bound toward our million tree goal with the Salt Lake County ‘One Million Trees for One Million People‘ program.

If you’re interested in some of the coverage from earlier this week, you can check out the story from Deseret News, Fox 13, ABC 4, or KUTV 2!

Thank you for helping to make 2012 a huge success. We could not have done it without our volunteers and supports.

During the last year with your help, we:

Planted over 4,000 trees in areas such as Little Cottonwood Canyon, Castle Valley, and along the Jordan River and Parley’s Trail;

Worked with 2,522 volunteers to grow our tree advocacy community in 35 Utah neighborhoods;

Educated more than 5,000 schoolchildren about the benefits of trees and visited over 60 public schools with our charismatic tree mascot, Carrie Cottonwood;

2013 is shaping up to be an exciting year for TreeUtah. Keep an eye out for many new things including our new e-newsletter, our new tree catalog, a new Tree Team Leader program and new community workshops. And, as always, we will have lots of fun tree plantings and events (starting in March).