Why Tree Trimming and Adjusting Watering Before Monsoon Season Is Essential in Phoenix

By Chris Stanford, Landscape Committee Chair

Tree Trimming

Phoenix homeowners know that monsoon season can bring

powerful winds, heavy rain, and sudden dust storms. One of

the best ways to protect your property before summer storms arrive is by having your trees professionally trimmed.

Overgrown branches can become dangerous during high

winds, breaking off and causing damage to roofs, vehicles,

fences, and power lines. Proper pruning helps reduce wind

resistance, allowing air to move more freely through the

canopy and decreasing the likelihood of storm damage.

Tree trimming also improves the overall health of your trees by removing dead, diseased, or weak limbs. Healthy trees are better equipped to withstand the stresses of extreme heat and monsoon weather common throughout the Phoenix area.

Scheduling tree maintenance before monsoon season offers another advantage:

professional arborists are often less busy in the spring and early summer than after

storms have already caused damage. Preventive trimming can save homeowners

thousands of dollars in repairs while helping preserve the beauty and safety of their

landscape.

If you haven't inspected your trees recently, now is the perfect time to prepare your

property for Phoenix's monsoon season and enjoy greater peace of mind when the

storms roll in.

Summer Watering

Properly watering trees in Summer is a critical factor for trees to survive the high winds

of the Monsoon Season. Many people change their summer irrigation schedules to

simply increase the frequency of watering. For example, their trees are watered twice a

week in winter, and they change it to 4 times a week in Summer - without changing

the length of each watering cycle. To develop a deep root system that anchors the

trees to withstand the Monsoon winds, it's much better to keep the frequency at 2 times

per week but increase the duration of the cycle. This allows a deeper penetration into

the soil, and the roots will seek out the water and grow deeper. It's also important to

place the drip nozzles away from the base of the trees since the root structure generally

exceeds the diameter of the canopy. More nozzles at low gallons per minute (GPM) are

better than fewer at high GPM. It takes time to penetrate our desert soil. If you see

water running off onto your sidewalk, split the lines and add drippers at lower GPM.

Deep roots anchor your trees and make them more likely to survive.