Following the drought of 2012, trees should not be taken for granted. Many areas, most of which are still recovering from last year’s dry spell, have been getting rain. In some cases, spring precipitation has been enough to ease the 2012 drought effects. But that doesn’t mean a drought couldn’t still happen again. Patty Petersen, a horticulturist with Trees Forever, suggests steps to make sure that trees survive in case precipitation should end abruptly. For instance, as trees emerge from dormancy, Petersen says people should take special care for all perennials, including trees, as green regrowth begins. Then at the end of June, growers should take a close look at trees looking for dead branches resulting from the drought. Petersen says the parching summer of 2012 caused stress on trees. Many of them simply died out, but she says there are, of course, exceptions where trees had good growth.

AUDIO: Patty Petersen (3 min. MP3)