Free ISA CEUs: Week of March 23, 2026

Many folks are looking at their trees and thinking it’s time to prune. If you feel this urge–don’t succumb to temptation!

I don’t recommend structural pruning for deciduous trees until after the summer solstice (and ideally after the first frost), when the days begin to get shorter, allowing temperate plants in the northern hemisphere to prepare for dormancy due to light availability. If you’re in a temperate climate in the southern hemisphere, the autumnal equinox to the spring equinox is the time to prune (now until mid-September).

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, this time of year is crucial for deciduous trees. They need to make enough sugar to seal their wounds from last year, prepare for an incoming scorching summer, defend against pests and pathogens, AND produce fruit. Instead of pruning right now, water and monitor!

A general rule of thumb for watering trees (even established ones!) is to follow 1 inch in diameter (at breast height) = 5-10 (or more) gallons of water per week, depending on species, climate, soil type, etc.

If you measure your tree with a soft measuring tape, it will only measure circumference; divide by pi (3.142) to get the diameter. If your tree is 10 inches in circumference, then your diameter will be a little over 3 inches. This would mean that your tree needs at least 15 gallons of water per week.

Make sure to water the roots all the way to the dripline–don’t water the trunk or focusing on watering the lawn.

Even though this amount of water per week may seem like a lot, humans need to consume about a gallon of water per day; about 7 gallons for a whole week. Trees are larger than us and don’t need much aside from a little extra water and specialized care occasionally.

Remember, reducing tree stress increases tree success for future seasons! Healthy trees build healthy lives.

Have an HOA that requires a green lawn, but is okay with sick trees?

Make an appointment below to explore solutions for your community.

There is one live webinar for free ISA CEUs available this week.

Thursday, March 19

Cross Department Collaboration – Serving Together with Shared Vision @ 10:00am Mountain

Join us for a special planning workshop with ICLEI where we’ll share a tool to facilitate cross department collaboration and help build consensus with our partners in urban forestry and the spaces we share in our cities. Plus, we’ll present a case study from New Orleans, LA focused on how they’re applying cross department collaboration to resolve conflict with their state department of transportation.

Forestry Webinars

The Webinar Portal, a product of Southern Regional Extension Forestry (SREF) and winner of the 2011 USDA Forest Service’s Two Chiefs’ Partnership Award, is a “multi discipline” web platform used to promote and deliver live and on-demand virtual events and webinars focused on forestry, agriculture, conservation, climate science and other natural resource disciplines.

Watch Here