But Mike Tyson says it very well. Everybody has a plan until you get punched in the mouth. And when extreme weather happens, preventative maintenance is a good way to talk to people about what's going on. But I look at it like focusing on the biome that you have and keeping that healthy so that it doesn't feel like preventative maintenance. It actually just feels like some type of health plan. 3, 2, 1.
Welcome to Rooted in Care, where we amplify the voices of our clients and dive into how tree care plays an integral role in our everyday lives.
Whether you're familiar with a tree or new to our community, we're here to bring the service industry together to explore the deep rooted connection between people, trees and the environment.
I'm Chantel Davis, Chief revenue officer at A Tree.
I'm Buddy Marshall, VP of Commercial sales.
We'll dig into what matters most to you. Yes, your input shapes how tree care enhances the beauty of our communities while protecting our natural surroundings.
Let's get to the root of thoughtful tree care for your property, your city, your home.
Welcome to Rooted in Care. Today we're tackling one of the biggest summer challenges for trees, and that is drought straight stress. So from visible symptoms to unseen soil issues, we'll cover how to protect your trees through smart watering, root care and policy awareness. Joining us today, we're very excited. We have Wister Dorta. He's the Western Regional Technical Specialist at arborjet. Wister began his career in New York City.
He was shaping urban tree protocols and leading tree protection efforts, really before bringing his expertise to Santa Monica to focus on preservation, drought resilience and city forestry, which is pretty cool. With advanced degrees and multiple professional certification, Worcester is leading sustainable urban arboriculture. And today he's actually going to be sharing what every property manager and honestly, tree owner needs to know before the summer heat hits, because we know it gets hot.
So together we'll dive into smart irrigation tips, the importance of root and soil health, and what the California Assembly Bill 1572 means for your trees moving forward. So, Wister, thank you so much for joining us. Before we jump in, today's topic, can you just tell our listeners a little bit about your background, who you are and how you got into this work?
Really nice to meet you and thank you for having me. I grew up in New York City in Brooklyn, New York, and I kind of came up through some cool gardening and tree programs through like the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and some other things. And I was advised by AP environmental science teacher that if you wanted a guaranteed job, go into the environment. And it kind of stuck with Treece. After I got my degree in environmental and forest biology.
I love that. Look at that. It is smart, right? We always got to care about our environment. So your teacher did you right. Look at where you are today. So to kind of get it started, we're going to really just dive in Wister and get to know you and your career based on your history. And you said you grew up in New York. You actually did a full 360, right? You went from coast to coast, New York to Santa Monica, California.
You might have kept the accent, but you are living in a very different area. So working in trees in New York City and then now doing drought planning in Santa Monica, did you ever think that this industry would take you to where you are today?
It's been a treat to not only go from Brooklyn to Santa Monica, coast to coast, but now I also work in Hawaii. So I'm like coast to coast. And it's been a blessing to be able to navigate and support. I'm really grateful that I grew up in a busy place and from a young age were told you have to work hard to stand out and above. Otherwise you'll just get caught up in the rest of the ocean. So coming to California was a unique challenge.
And it really was an opportunity for me to broaden my expertise on different species palettes, weather patterns and microclimates. And it was an opportunity that somebody identified as right up my alley when it came to tree preservation, rock construction, and updating protocols for urban forestry programming. So it was a treat to be able to muster up and take a plane across the country with two duffel bags and land at 4 in the morning and then go right into HR to get, you know, hit the rubber.
Meets the road, as they say.
So you moved all the way from New York with two duffel bags? I think that's what I got out of it, which is pretty impressive. So I went back home to get.
A couple of sneakers and stuff, but.
You know, there we go.
Leave home without the Jordans, man. Come on now. Did I have those? So Worcester, I mean, man, coast to coast, travel all over the place. He's probably dealt with a lot of different situations. So what's a tree care moment or lesson that's really stayed with you over the years? And obviously you've. You've probably come across plenty of situations, but what's one or two things that have kind of stuck out to you.
And it's been a blessing to be able to navigate and support landscapes in other places and put in the research to give those patients the help they need for speaking of trees, a tree care moment or lesson that stayed with me over the years is someone once told me, don't hesitate to say yes to a new challenge. It will unfold from there. And it really gave me a little bit of, we all need a little bit of a push forward. That's how I learned how to swim. Just got thrown in the pool.
And I think also it's a great opportunity for people to take those words from others and carry that baton and run forward.
I love that. That's awesome. And I love that you refer to the trees as your patient. So I've got a sweet spot there because they are right. They're so important and I think sometimes overlooked. And that's really why we're doing what we're doing as we're kind of getting to know you and what you do. Could you help our listeners kind of understand when it comes to watering trees and keeping them hydrated, what is one misconception you often hear that would be important for people to know?
I think people sometimes focus on deep watering and I like to use the formal term of field capacity because it's challenging to isolate water just in the drip line of a tree and then the rest of the soil is dry so it can get like absorbed out. But understanding what and how much water the tree really needs, depending the size and species, is what will allow you to talk about hydration versus like deep watering. People just misunderstand it. Like you just got to let a hose run all night.
And it's all species dependent and site specific.
We like to keep it really simple for our viewers, right. Explaining why it's so important with what you do. And we always tell ourselves we need to drink a certain amount of water, right? We have to make sure we stay hydrated and we should have the same thought process. So as we're going through this with you, Mr. I just want everybody to kind of remember that we need to take care of them just like we take care of ourself and our animals. They are a living species. It's very important.
So how have attitudes about tree irrigation and water conservation evolved over the past decade? Because I know that's been an ever changing topic and kind of coming front and center. So how do you think it's evolved in your experience since you've been doing it?
We have listeners from all over the US and the world. And they all have different water frequencies when it comes to rain and opportunity for irrigation. And, you know, the image and cost of using water has definitely changed drastically. When I came to California in 2014, having a hose out on your lawn was like a faux pas. And it was all these different, like, parameters that people upheld each other to, which, as you know, it makes sense and it can be interpretive.
But for sure, I think what matters is understanding what it is that you have, where is it, and what is the consumption. It's just like anything else. If you have a habit that costs a lot of money, you need to be able to make enough money to supplement that hobby. So understanding your water tables, like the M. Wheelo in California Metropolitan water efficiency ordinance, they have hydro zones and some water. Some sites of the landscape will get more water than others.
And that's how you focus your budget. Right? So it's really important to just zoom out and focus on what it is that you're dealing with. Right? Act locally, think globally.
You got to make sure that you're investing in the right things and making sure you know what's needed to really be able to take care of your trees. And you said the joke, make sure you have the money to invest in your hobby. And I think most people probably don't do that. But I do say we should use the money, right, to invest in our trees. You live in California, I live in Northern California. So it is getting into the season of fire season, right? We don't love that, but it is happening.
It's getting hot, right? We're getting, you know, triple digits. And you don't think about, you know, we have a lot of hardscape in our front yard, but we still have a lot of trees, right? We got to make sure that we're taking care of those trees. So I think that's really good to kind of think about it that way. It should be part of kind of our daily routine.
So, Worcester Chantelle mentioned hardscaping and talked about, you know, more on the residential side. Give us some examples of what challenges that professionals and property owners are facing right now when it comes to summer tree care, since it is getting warmer out there.
I think having the right people giving you the education is important. I mean, everybody's out there trying to sell something, right? They're called sales arborists. Most clients are not in the field of wanting to be sold. Right. They're more about being taught and shown results that will support their desire into having a successful landscape with your Help. There are case by case scenarios. I always like to say no two sites are the same.
But being able to have people understand what they dealt with in the past and not repeating that will give them the opportunity to a understand how much it will cost, but also what it will reap in benefits in the long term. Because as trees become larger, their environmental benefits do enhance and become greater.
We're getting into what I call the meat right. Of the conversation now. Our listeners are going, okay, right? Like what do I do now? Because clearly it's something that you're identifying. So I always like to say, let's get practical here. Right. So for our listeners, you know, they want to know how can they identify drought stress early. Right. And avoid that long term damage. Right. That you're talking about. So for those listening, drought stress isn't just about droopy leaves, right?
That's what I think it is. Like, oh, the leaf is droopy or it looks like it's dying, so it must need water. There are some invisible effects, right? I know you'll talk about it. Visible effects that affect drought and property owners just miss it. And so it could be within the soil, it could be in the root system. You probably know this better than me. That's the basis of what I know about it.
So what are some early visual symptoms of drought stress that a property owner should watch out for when they're going outside and looking at their property and their trees?
I think the cool thing about having properties and overseeing their evolution is the weather is typically semi consistent. Right. And understanding weather patterns and when it begins to become hot and when rain becomes less or rain becomes more prevalent. Soil probes are an amazing opportunity for you to poke around your site and see how much moisture is in your soil.
And I do believe that most people have a signature plant in their landscape that is kind of like the telltale of watering, right. They have this one pot that has some species of, you know, little bush or plant that starts weeping. And that's kind of what tells them things are it's really hot outside or whatever it is.
But if you're paying attention to the weather, it's either on the client end to understand where they live and how it's like, or on the service provider end to be able to kind of forecast and show what are trends that are coming and how it is that you can be supportive. And that turns more into a holistic plan versus feeling like you're being sold something because it's becoming drastic. I did a presentation in Arizona.
And I pulled up the top five cities, annual precipitation and like square miles. And I was able to show them that over the last five years, this is how much precipitation on average you received monthly. And it was able to showcase dry times so that clients can be informed statistically versus just, hey, it's hot outside, right?
Yeah, that's, I mean that's really interesting. I know we, you know, we have business up in the Pacific Northwest, right. You get a lot of precipitation there. And then in California, Southern, right. You get more just drought. Northern California, we get a mix, right? We're kind of a balance. But being able to have that data and I think to paraphrase it's preventative maintenance, right? Like don't wait till something, you know, drastic is happening.
And you're calling a plus tree because your tree fell down right on your house or your car because it was, you know, from the inside out, it was dying. And we get a lot of those calls. Just last week we had a couple calls come in and there was a little bit of wind. But I think these trees just were sick, right? And they weren't taken care of and they weren't doing that preventative maintenance.
So that is so important as people think about it, preventative maintenance really prevents an emergency or something drastic from happening that you can't come back from. So that was very helpful.
I like to say if you stay ready, you don't have to get ready. And having that plan in place, love it will allow your signature site glow or at least withstand those heat waves. But Mike Tyson says it very well. Everybody has a plan until you get punched in the mouth. And when extreme weather happens and you suffer from summer limb drop or extensive winds or oversaturated soils and you know, tree failures of other like unpredictable or extreme nature.
But preventative maintenance is a good way to talk to people about understanding what's going on. But I look at it like focusing on the biome that you have and keeping that healthy so that it doesn't feel like preventative maintenance. It actually just feels like some type of health plan. And that's kind of like the cool part of this industry because we're able to. And it's just like people, there's going to be a tree that never went to the doctor for 50 years, just like grandpa or whatever.
And then there's going to be a, a tree that sees the doctor all the time for whatever reason it is, right? Whether they are hyper focused on what's going on in development or there's actually something happening and it's chronic.
Yeah, I laughed. I'm like, okay, don't. My family listens to this. And I could just correlate it to one of each of them, like one that goes to the doctor, one that doesn't go to the doctor. But I think it is so important. Right. I know you said don't call it preventative maintenance. It's just education is really how I'm looking at education. If you know and understand it from people like yourself, then you're aware of it. So it just, it works out for you. So you know the signs to look for.
So yes, routine. And those stay. I love those. We use those in the Marine Corps a lot. You don't have to get ready if you stay ready. Let's go. So Chantelle mentioned a couple of trees that she's seen. You know, just a little bit of wind knocking them over. So maybe tell us why soil health is so important, especially in drier, compacted areas.
Well, it's site specific. And you have a different balance of how you label soil in a landscape. Right. It's usually influenced by people. It's very rarely natural anymore. When developments occur, the soil that's put back in may be amended for the site. And you have to support and keep that moving forward. Just like we take multivitamins to supplement those nutrients in our bodies due to the diets available to us in site specific to the species.
And what I like to talk about soil health is dirt is dead. Right. And soil is a biome that varies where you are with basic nuts and bolts structures. Being able to feed mycorrhizae and microbes in the soil and making sure that you have beneficial insects hanging around in your soil and in your canopies will support any type of impacts from outside stressors. You can go to the USGS to learn about soil profiles that are native to the areas you live in.
And you can do your own Google searches on what are those parent profiles due to the geology of the way the area was shaped naturally over the millions of years. Then you're able to understand drainage and what's going on with nutrient availability and absorption or traditional types of water drainage or absorption in your soil and understanding the mitigation of that.
I think that's very important that you mentioned, you know, having like we have good bacteria and bad bacteria for our bodies. So same with the soil. We need, we need those insects and some of those things that some homeowners consider pests might be Actually helping your soil because they're infiltrating that soil. So that's good information.
This is where I go in a chat, GPT it, right. Because there are so much information there. But it is good, right? It's all about education. Go and look up, you know, the information in your region, right, in your area to really understand it based on the climate that you live in. So that was really helpful.
Yeah, I think maintaining moisture with, like, mulch is huge. Compaction comes from different areas, whether it's from foot traffic in New York City. In Manhattan, you have traffic from big trucks on the street and subways beneath. And a tree that's maybe 10 inches in Manhattan could easily be 18 or 20 inches in a residential neighborhood in Queens or Staten Island.
So, like, understanding how that compaction impacts your trees and understanding the trees that you have, whether they're considered urban tolerant, heat tolerant, salt tolerant, all those buzzwords. But it really gives you that, that support because there's some trees that will grow out of your ear if you let them. And there's other trees that they really, truly are delicate and they really need that perfect setting to enjoy themselves.
Well, let's kind of continue on our education journey that we're on. So what would you say are some of the hidden impacts of drought stress that make trees more vulnerable in your mind if you had to pick a couple?
I look at trees like a business. When business is good, you get, you hire more employees and you grow. So, right, you get more leaves and you expand your territory. And when business isn't good, you start losing employees and you start having to get rid of some of those assets. So you then start dying back. And proper drought stress weakens the tree's ability to withstand pest pressure that may already be present. Right. When it comes to pines, boring insects are already in the canopy.
But if they're not hydrated enough, they're not able to push out enough SAP to expel or push out those challenging insects. Same with us, right? If we're working too hard, we're more susceptible to becoming sick. Or if you get a cut on your arm and you don't wash it, those germs were always there.
It was just that you became susceptible to that because of that weakened state and understanding work around trees, any type of impacts from pruning or root, impacts of excavation, drought compaction in water quality, all of those things kind of like layer up to what that is, you.
Said in such a simplistic form, but it was so powerful just around just like our lives or work, when something is flourishing, right, you see more leaves, you see it growing, you can visually, right, experience it. But when it has stress on it, and there's an underlining issue, you see that kind of die down. You don't see that healthiness that you typically would want to see when you're looking at it. And I think that's just an important message. You may not realize that just in life, right.
There's so much to that, and it's great when we talk about this, that there are so many correlations to our work life, our personal life, and the environment. And it needs to be in a talk track every single day when we're. When we're living our lives. So I want to kind of transition because there's so much we want to talk about. So I want to dive into irrigation. I know you're very excited. So we want to know what smart, efficient watering actually looks like for trees.
Which is going to lead me to my first question, which is what is the ideal water frequency and depth for trees in the summer? What I've learned since I've been in the tree care industry for a good nine months is that we've seen recommendations like 5 to 10 gallons of water per inch of truck diameter. And that surprises a lot of people. And I just want to talk about why is that amount necessary and why is that important for people to know?
I've seen some drastic charts that implicate too much water because it's kind of like an expel spreadsheet that you just drag across and it tells you if the tree is this big, you need like this many thousands of gallons of water to water it or whatever. Very large trees may require larger amounts of water to recover from drought stress. There are other support systems, like a product that arborjet makes called Hydrotain.
Like retaining hydration, it captures atmospheric moisture that you would lose to evaporation, and it turns it back into water droplets. Right? So you're maximizing the applications. We're already under the pressure of using less water. So now being able to take that lower quantity of water and amplifying the dose of the droplets that those roots can uptake will definitely be more advantageous than losing it to evaporation.
You talked about so often, whether it's going onto Google or talking to someone, people are looking at a spreadsheet, right? And they're saying, well, the data says this is what we need to do. And data is a great, I think, foundation. But it's the elements that data and spreadsheets don't show. And that's what you talked about, which is the evaporation piece. Right.
You've got a product because if you do that watering and that evaporates at a faster rate than what you anticipated, it does make a difference. So I wanted to make sure we just kind of stuck on that because that was really powerful with what you said. And then we can kind of dive into the irrigation piece because a lot of people think, well, I saw it, I did exactly what I was told to do, why are we still getting these effects? And so that's something we just want to double down on.
I, I saw a professional, I don't remember if he was a PhD or not, but he had these really cool charts that typically come from turf management on those like formulas that will allow you to understand what is the hydration for that site. And I had a presentation where I just pulled up a few different images from Google and he took my image and put it through his spreadsheet and was showing me that some of those charts could have inaccuracies.
And I thought it was really fascinating because it was from just a quick Google search, but understanding some math or relying on the professionals that are regular with those tidbits of information, it was really what makes your money worth your while. I did a young tree mortality study before I left my old job in Santa Monica and I was able to showcase more trees dying in green turf than and with no turf. Right. Because you're dealing with the right tree for the right place.
And drought tolerant trees or climate adapted trees that are trending for certain sites and then they're installed in a nice green lawn setting will actually potentially succumb to root rot or other water prone influences because they're not designed for that in nature. Right.
That's the crazy part about what we're dealing with is we're dealing with landscapes where trees and plants are from all over the world due to certain traits that we enjoy and prefer and then having to make them coexist, whether they're in the same ph zones or the same watering frequencies, or the same light requirements or soil conditions. So sometimes we overdo it as people and we kind of over care.
I think when it comes to all of that, it's making sure you understand what plant you have, making sure you understand that your irrigation is dialed into that site, whether it's a flooding system or the right amount of drip emitters or nothing.
I've got another soil question for you. So I've heard you say the Trees don't just need water, they need a healthy environment to absorb it. So what kinds of soil treatments or amendments can help make that happen?
A long time ago when I transitioned into arborjet, I had one sheet like spec sheet from a product we used to carry called Arborchar. And at the time it was a little ahead of what people were being used to using in their landscapes. And A plus is now creating their own biochar which is, it has its support.
And I do think that amendments a understanding your soil with a soil test so that you can understand the balance that you need for what it is you're trying to grow happily be having plants that are adapted to that site so they can thrive and you don't have to do too much work to make it, you know, welcoming. You have humic acid and fulvic acids, right? You have food for your microbes. You have really cool kelps that are labeled as nutrient supplements or bio stimulants and then supports.
I really think that Hydrotain is an amazing product. It's kept my plants alive while I'm on the road. It lives for labeled 12 weeks in the soil. But if it's really hot, I like to tell people every two months just reapply it. And it gives you that. I think it gives you that window to take advantage of growth versus worrying about heat and drought, stress. But really, you know, understanding the role of nitrogen.
There are charts that talk about how too much nitrogen can implicate challenges in absorption of other nutrients, micro and macro, in your soils. And also, you know, there's a lot of talks about the biome of the soil and inoculating with certain beneficials. But I really think that if you're feeding and supporting the soil, the existing biome will kind of replicate and become more healthy without having to inoculate.
But if you are having to inoculate because it was a really bad setup, then understanding how to keep that soil alive. Because just like us, you take one vitamin today that's not doing anything, but you for sure are doing it over the course of X time and you'll see different results in your body.
Just like exercise, you've got some good reminders not only about trees, but life. You know, buddy was talking a lot about soil, but I want to dive into what's the biggest mistake that people are making with irrigation habits, like the changing of irrigation habits. Because I know for many viewers they're asking are the built in irrigation systems that they have enough or should we actually encourage our viewers to supplement it.
With water audits are great. I think it's an excellent opportunity for an existing or new service provider on a property to be able to review what's functional, what's broken, what needs adjustment. And I do believe that more people over water because they think it'll be helpful versus reviewing and planning out what's going on there and updating as needed. Right. If you, if you begin to feel thirsty, you're over. That's already a sign of dehydration in your body.
I believe that fertigation systems are super helpful if you're able to install one on your property so that you don't have to spread granular and water it in and look like you're the criminal with a hose out when it's hot, or be able to just pump right in the liquid support right into your plant root zones. It provided they're installed appropriately, you know, making sure that your overhead sprayers aren't hitting the trunks of trees to implicate decay on those trunks over time.
And kind of like, think about it like, what do you have, what do you want and what do you need for that site? So an audit is always important, right. If you don't do it for your budget or you don't do it for your caloric intake or whatever it is, you're not realizing what it is that's going out. You may be able to save water or actually, you know, refine areas that maybe are receiving water and they don't need to be there.
That's so important. Right. I always say utilize and reach out to people like yourself and tree companies that can give you more information because it's more than just, oh, the tree needs some watering, or oh, the plant needs some watering. So I think there's a lot there. Well, I want to kind of dive in because this is something that's kind of a hot topic, especially in California.
And I'd like to say that, you know, California, when it comes to environmental initiatives, kind of like leads a charge for the West Coast. Right. And then the other states follow. So there is, for everybody listening, there's a major change coming with a policy we have in California. It's called the California Assembly Bill 1572, which I know you can talk about here in a minute. But I want to break down what it means and how it can actually affect trees. I think that's really important.
So, you know, for our listeners, you might not be familiar with AB 1572, because I wasn't. Right. I don't know all the bills that are going to be out there. But this one actually prohibits drinkable water use for irrigating non functional turf on commercial, municipal, industrial, institutional and multifamily properties starting in 2027. So it's not today, but it's in the future.
And although trees are, we call, technically excluded from this restriction, their health can still be compromised because what's going to happen is, you know, irrigation zones are going to be reduced or removed because of the policy. And so even though AB 1572 excludes trees from your perspective, because I'm sure this is something that, you know, why should we be concerned about its impact on the health of our trees?
Because I know that's not what the intention of the bill is, but we do foresee some kind of impact to our trees.
We talked a little bit about this earlier, was like, you know, recalibrating your irrigation or, you know, non functional turf can be subjective to some people, but when I used to work around parks, if you have somebody on a hillside with a hand mower kind of like pushing up and down and it's all this work to maintain it, I would consider that more non functional turf than a sports field or a passive area for people to be able to just take some sun in.
And you know, as an arborist, turf versus trees is always a very challenging topic and I always encouraged removing turf. But when I came onto arborjet, a college yellow, I learned a lot more about being able to have healthy turf without overconsumption of water. And I do believe that, you know, potable water is important. And being able to have water to drink and shower and do other necessities are very a part of our everyday life.
Now when it comes to limiting or rewiring people's thoughts on what non functional turf is, I do believe those are opportunities for homeowners that are diyers and landscape contractors or service providers to re enhance properties with other plant materials that are adapted to those sites. But also being able to use water more wisely is something we've already been doing in California and in other states that are dealing with issues like in Utah or maybe New Mexico or Arizona.
Arizona had like a large amount of water brought in for irrigation versus traditional use. I learned that many years ago in undergrad. So like were talking earlier about updating irrigation, tearing out turf around trees can be a bit sensitive. I saw a lot of retrofits occurring when I came to California in 2014, and in 2015 and 2016, I would see die back in trees because the drought setup and the irrigation for turf will promote more roots in the top x inches of soil.
And when people are tearing out 6 inches of turf plus another 2 inches for base to install decomposed granite or to install artificial turf around trees, it can become a little bit debatable. But it will for sure rip out fibrous roots around the drip line of the tree. And I think that's what's important for people to understand is what are they tearing out and how is it that they're doing those processes.
You can use pneumatic air excavation in some instances where you'll move soil, but not really tear up roots. You'll just have to rehydrate them because you're using air. And also understanding where you need to take that turf out or where you need to do that work around trees and how will it implicate in the long term, Especially for big developments, Plant growth regulators are really helpful.
We make short stop 2sc is very helpful during construction and it's very helpful for trees in drought and other stress.
So in your opinion, what happens to trees when irrigation systems are shut off and there's no alternative watering plan?
I saw that a lot when I first came town and it was a blessing to be able to be a fresh set of eyes coming to California in 2014 versus the day in and day out of what people were already used to. And I did see sites that were fully shut off. And you did see the trees impacted over the sometimes even months, depending on when it is that it occurred. But think about like your caloric intake. If you're eating X amount of calories and you're doing X amount of exercise, then you have that budget.
And if you just stop eating anything, you stop eating sugar or you stop taking caffeine, your body goes through this type of shock and stress. And trees go through that same stress, especially when they're used to receiving maybe some people would say plentiful or adequate amounts of water. Some trees might even say thank goodness that I'm not getting over watered.
It's always going back to situational awareness and what it is that is happening on site specific to those species and that soil blend.
It sounds more like it's a like a climate question. What part of the country are you in? Kind of the way you spoke of earlier.
Don't just hard shut it off, just dial it down over time. Right. I wanna, I never drank coffee when I was younger and I used to love really sweet coffee. And I went from Four sugars to three sugars to two sugars to one sugar to half sugar to no sugar. And now I drink straight black espresso. Right. So I think it's the same for your watering impacts and I think it also will benefit your watering bill when you understand that fine balance of.
Or a sweet spot per se, of like, what's keeping your plants happy and what's keeping your bill happy as well.
Yeah, that's a big one, right? I think. I think everybody perked up when you said that. Right. Managing your bill because it is so expensive for water here and you never know when to water. But then when you see everything dying, you're over watering. Right. Because they're like, no, I don't want everything to die. So it's such a balance. Right.
We did a cool project at a cemetery with Hydrochane and ensured that they saved tens of thousands of gallons of water, if not hundreds. They also saved like 60 grand in their watering bill.
So, wow.
You're using money to supplement what you would pay for in the bills, but you're also actually preserving a resource that you're actively using daily in your soil for your plant health, which is super cool. And those are the things that really intrigue people is when they see results and they see the data that supports versus just being said, hey, trust me, or, you know, I've had some and it was great.
So kind of staying on the same track, but a little bit different. How can switching to recycled water or gray water or removing the lawns without a plan hurt tree root zones?
Purple pipe is something popular in California. I'm not sure if it's called the same in other states, but reclaimed water typically comes from captured water from streets and buildings that goes through some type of processing and is comes out on the other end as usable water for landscapes in a different setting of pipes. And the cool thing about it is when it does rain, water is being funneled into specific tanks and sites and process to be used.
The challenging part about it is one site that I worked around was if it's not raining, they're running clean water through the site to then be treated again to keep the system in motion. And you can actually be dealing with overly processed water to boil that down in an easier way is reclaimed water systems have reports that go out and talks about what's going on in the water.
And your local reclaimed water facility should be able to provide you, as a homeowner or as a landscape professional or tree professional to understand how that will impact the existing Soil that you're dealing with and the long term effects of how that can impact certain trees that may be sensitive to bicarbonates or salts or other ingredients in reclaimed water because you are dealing with stuff that's being washed away from buildings and streets and being caught and processed for that system.
So if someone's then trying to reduce turf or kind of reworking their irrigation, what would be one thing they must do to protect their trees?
With all that being said, understand their root zone. Some trees can. So like the drip line is like the easiest way to look at a root zone, right? That's where the tree is naturally extending its arms to capture water when it rains. And that's where many of its roots will be. And it can extend maybe another 1.5 times that, provided that's it's soil and not concrete or a building or a curb or something. And understanding that some trees are more tolerant of that impact than others.
And also how can you supplement the regeneration of those roots or the impacts from that procedure? We have a product called Nutra Root that's really awesome. It has a little bit of hydrotain in it has some humic and some humates in it with a little bit of kelp and it gives support. It's a low MPK 2 to 3. So it's not anything to really, you know, blast a tree with macronutrients.
But you know, applied monthly or quarterly could really give that tree what it needs to kind of deal with the stress that it will endure from those retrofits.
Yeah, that's helpful, right? We want to avoid the stress, right? That's a, that's a great way to think about it. So as we kind of wrap up, I always like to leave our viewers with what I call it like a hot topic question. It's the question that they all have, especially in this type of conversation. And if you could leave them with one thing, what is the most important action tree owners can take before this heat really sets in? Because it is right around the corner.
I think that's a great question. Respective to tree owners and dealing with drought, giving those roots an optimized opportunity for hydration. Being that whatever water you do put down, less of it will be lost to evaporation.
So Worcester, where can people learn more or get help with soil and drought specific care?
Arborjet.com is a great start. Our Arbor RX program is huge and really gives some high end, non over fertilized like support for what it is that you're dealing with. In your home front, I don't really like to call it fertilization. I prefer to call it soil health solutions.
Yeah, that's awesome.
Virtual.
No, that. That's fantastic. Well, you know, Lister, thank you so much for digging into all things drought roots, water wise wisdom. You know, to your teacher who told you to do this, she definitely brought you down the right path. I think there's so much that you're bringing in education to people every single day. And for me, right, I always kind of take notes as you're talking. If there's really one takeaway is your trees don't just need water, right? They need care. I think that's what your.
Your theme was. Trees don't need water, they need care. I think these small adjustments can really make a difference, especially when the summer heat. Right, starts to kick in. So what I would tell our viewers is just make sure you check your irrigation systems, right? Give your root zone some love. And if you're not sure what your trees need, you call the pros, right?
So A plus and arborjet have your back because I think there's so much education and knowledge that you can hear on this call from what we can bring to the table. So with that, I just want to thank you personally for joining us on Rooted in Care. Until next time, keep cool, stay rooted, and water wisely. So really appreciate it, Worcester. Thank you so much. It was, it was fantastic learning everything about not only what you do, but how much you care about the environment and our trees.
And that resonated through this whole process.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I appreciate it. Thank you, Chantel. Thank you, buddy. And I think the most important thing that we're learning is having trusted professionals that are informed to help you make the moves that you need for your landscapes. That way you can take a little bit of more time to enjoy yourself and let the people that you trust with your landscapes, you know, flourish in the things that they focus their time and energy on.
Thank you for listening to this episode of Rooted in Care.
We have a fresh lineup of new episodes ready to drop, so tune in each week to hear people just like you share their experience and insights on how tree care impacts our daily lives. Subscribe to Rooted in Care. We're on Spotify, Apple, and wherever you get your podcasts.
Tell us what you thought of this episode by leaving a review, commenting, or look us up on LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
This podcast is a plussed up production created in collaboration with Chorus Studios. Stay rooted out there.