→ View All
Spring Gardening Tips for a Flourishing Garden
As the vibrant colors of spring burst forth and the air fills with the sweet scent of blossoms, it's the perfect time to roll up your sleeves and tend to your garden. Whether you're a seasoned gar...
Chest of Hope
Listed under: Community Service & Support Crime & Justice
Watch out for leaning trunks and sagging branches
This 25-foot elm in the Pocket neighborhood of Sacramento came down during the New Year's Eve storm. Note the fissures in the lawn. Debbie Arrington
With the downpour on New Year’s Eve, 2022 made up for what had been a very dry year. And 2023 is starting soggy, too.
Record rain had a huge impact on the greater Sacramento area with flooding in south Sacramento County, major power outages and fallen trees all over the place.
According to the National Weather Service, downtown Sacramento received 2.37 inches on New Year’s Eve – a record for that date – and 4.81 inches fell since Christmas. That brought December’s total to 9.5 inches – almost triple the normal (3.49 inches) for that month.
December brought our seasonal total to 10.66 inches since Oct. 1, the start of our “water year.” That total is 148% of normal for that period, which is good news for our reservoirs and drought perspective.
More rain is on the way, says the weather service. Today (Monday) will see a quick-moving storm with less than one-third inch predicted for downtown Sacramento. The real threat comes Wednesday and Thursday; over 48 hours, an estimated 2.5 to 3 inches of rain is expected to fall.
All this moisture puts trees at risk. Be on the lookout for sagging branches and leaning trees.
Water accumulates in the needles of evergreens, stressing limbs with the extra weight. Horizontal limbs are at the greatest risk of breaking. The tree may groan or creak, often a signal that a branch is about to fall – or the whole tree is coming down.
Lawn trees – particularly those affected by drought – are especially susceptible to uprooting; all it takes are strong winds to accompany that moisture. Need proof? On New Year’s Eve, dozens of trees fell in Sacramento neighborhoods, pushed over by 40 mph gusts.
Lawn trees tend to have shallow roots and less of a foothold. If the soil is soggy, those roots give way.
Before the tree falls, there are usually warning signs, such as fissures in the soil around the tree. That’s a sign the roots are pulling loose.
If you see such fissures, stay away from the tree and call a certified arborist immediately. Your tree may be saved with quick action (and support). Never walk under a leaning tree; the soil may be too unstable.
For more information on tree care and finding an arborist, go to: www.sactree.org.
Comments
An article about gardening.
Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
Taste Spring! E-cookbook
Find our spring recipes here!
Local News
Thanks to our sponsor!
Sites We Like
Garden Checklist for week of May 19
Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.
* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.
* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.
* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.
* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.
Taste Summer! E-cookbook
Find our summer recipes here!
Taste Fall! E-cookbook
Find our fall recipes here!
Taste Winter! E-cookbook
Find our winter recipes here!
You are subscribed!
Look for our confirmation message in your email inbox.
And look for our newsletter every Monday morning. See you then!
You're already subscribed
It looks like you're already subscribed to the newsletter. Not seeing it in the email inbox of the address you submitted? Be sure to check your spam folder or promotions folder (Gmail) in case your email provider diverted it there.
There was a problem with the submitted email address.
We can't subscribe you with the submitted email address. Please try another.