Thirsty trees need water

Thousands of new trees have been planted around Cardiff in the autumn/winter 2022/23 planting season.  Sadly, courtesy of the current drought – five weeks with no rain, and counting - many of these trees are dying.

Cardiff Council needs to embed a watering policy within its planting programme, as does Coed Caerdydd, if these trees are to survive to maturity, and increase the city’s canopy.

In the meantime, we are asking anyone with a new tree in their street to give it some much-needed water every other day during dry spells.  

A dry spell means a period of time with no heavy rain.  A light summer shower doesn’t count.

Please start watering before the trees get stressed and start to wilt or shed leaves.  Although they may recover at this point, this kind of stress could cause damage that affects their longevity.

Barchams, specialist tree nursery, and supporter of CCS’s Canopy Cardiff/Canopi Caerdydd project has some excellent advice on watering new trees, which is well worth a read.

Pics: Trees planted in Cardiff during the 2022/23 autumn/winter season, now dying due to lack of water. (Credit: Cardiff Civic Society)