Mark Flory
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Gardens, trees, grass have different tolerance to floodwaters
By Mark Flory, Miami County Extension Agriculture Agent
In the past, I have talked about how heavy rains can compact soil and how that can affect the oxygen available to plants. Consequently from the compacted soils many different types of plants can suffer severe losses, if not a total loss. It is important if you have several different types of plants such as flowers, vegetables, trees and grass to be aware of waterlogged soil.
I will discuss what you can expect from different plants when flooding occurs. However, you should keep in mind that, within specific kinds of plants, different varieties will have different tolerance levels of flooding.
The first call I usually get on flood damage is about vegetable gardens. When talking about vegetable gardens, you need to know some plants may do better than others with flood damage. However, vegetable gardens usually will have a fairly low tolerance to flooding, meaning they will generally suffer greater losses than other types of plants.
If your garden does have some flooding, you consider the source of floodwater. If your garden is just flooded with plain rainwater, then there is little concern about safety, but if there is a lagoon nearby with raw sewage and some of that water floods into your garden, then you will want to consider discarding those vegetables for food safety reasons.
A good rule of thumb is when in doubt, throw it out.
Next, I will discuss the flooding of trees. When talking about trees, it can be more difficult because different trees have very different tolerance levels of water. In general, trees can be more tolerant of flooded soil. Most trees will see minimal damage if the water does not stay above ground for more than seven days.
There is another factor with flooding we need to keep in mind, which is sediment brought in due to high erosion from floodwaters. If the floodwater brings in more that three inches of sediment, there is the potential of oxygen loss to the roots resulting in the loss of the tree. Some of the problems you could run into with flood damage to trees is leaf drop, leaf curl, iron chlorosis and branch die back.
I’m going to end by telling you about grass because many people run into lawn problems following excessive water. Most of the time flooding will occur in early spring, which actually works to the benefit of the grass because it is generally cooler weather, which is better for recovery of the grass. The most damage occurs to turf when there is hot weather and shallow water. Under such conditions some types of grass will be damaged in only a few hours.
Most often water damage in lawns will occurin a low spot that will hold water. This should be corrected by filling in the low spot and trying to achieve the correct drainage of the yard.
With the rainfall we have been receiving this year, there are some plants that could be affected.
Hopefully, this will help if you are facing some water damage.
If you have any questions over waterlogged soils, contact me at the Miami County Extension office, 294-4306.
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I will discuss what you can expect from different plants when flooding occurs. However, you should keep in mind that, within specific kinds of plants, different varieties will have different tolerance levels of flooding.
The first call I usually get on flood damage is about vegetable gardens. When talking about vegetable gardens, you need to know some plants may do better than others with flood damage. However, vegetable gardens usually will have a fairly low tolerance to flooding, meaning they will generally suffer greater losses than other types of plants.
If your garden does have some flooding, you consider the source of floodwater. If your garden is just flooded with plain rainwater, then there is little concern about safety, but if there is a lagoon nearby with raw sewage and some of that water floods into your garden, then you will want to consider discarding those vegetables for food safety reasons.
A good rule of thumb is when in doubt, throw it out.
Next, I will discuss the flooding of trees. When talking about trees, it can be more difficult because different trees have very different tolerance levels of water. In general, trees can be more tolerant of flooded soil. Most trees will see minimal damage if the water does not stay above ground for more than seven days.
There is another factor with flooding we need to keep in mind, which is sediment brought in due to high erosion from floodwaters. If the floodwater brings in more that three inches of sediment, there is the potential of oxygen loss to the roots resulting in the loss of the tree. Some of the problems you could run into with flood damage to trees is leaf drop, leaf curl, iron chlorosis and branch die back.
I’m going to end by telling you about grass because many people run into lawn problems following excessive water. Most of the time flooding will occur in early spring, which actually works to the benefit of the grass because it is generally cooler weather, which is better for recovery of the grass. The most damage occurs to turf when there is hot weather and shallow water. Under such conditions some types of grass will be damaged in only a few hours.
Most often water damage in lawns will occurin a low spot that will hold water. This should be corrected by filling in the low spot and trying to achieve the correct drainage of the yard.
With the rainfall we have been receiving this year, there are some plants that could be affected.
Hopefully, this will help if you are facing some water damage.
If you have any questions over waterlogged soils, contact me at the Miami County Extension office, 294-4306.