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At this point in January I’d usually delve into what’s new for your 2025 garden, but we really we need to look back at 2024. Events of last year may well have plenty to do with your landscape and gardens in the new year. The things to keep in mind are that we had a very wet late June through late July. Then the drought set in, and yes, the drought is still with us and this may be one of the 2025 garden headlines.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the East End of Long Island was until recently in a D2 category drought, which translates into a severe drought, and is now in the D1 category, or moderate drought. At this time of the year though it’s difficult to see many of the visual signs of drought so it’s important to know how the lack of rain and snow are affecting our outdoor environment. Now, I know it seems like we’ve had some rain — and that rain did ameliorate some of the immediate drought problems — but most places are still in a 6- to 9-inch precipitation deficit. Most drought issues won’t show up until spring and into next summer.
First, the obvious signs of drought that you may see: Your lawn.
It may be uncharacteristically brown. Not that you’d be watering your lawn at this time of the year, but there are still restrictions by the Suffolk County Water Authority on watering your lawn, and these will most likely extend well into 2025. This means no watering at all between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. with alternate-day restrictions still in effect come lawn watering season.
If your lawn was thin going into the winter (unusually thin from lack of water) this will give weeds yet another advantage as they will germinate in these bare spots and outcompete any grass plants that may emerge when it gets warmer. Two things come to mind here: Overseeding and using a preemergent herbicide. The question is though, will either be effective if the drought continues?
Most preemergent herbicides preclude overseeding in the spring. There are some preemergents available though that will allow you to overseed, and you can ask at your local garden center, but they may not be fully effective with a lack of rain that activates them. So there is a dilemma. Overseed in the spring and take your chances, or wait until fall when the drought may have eased and weeds aren’t an issue?
As an alternative you can do a light or half-rate overseeding in the spring and another overseeding in late summer/early fall. The bottom line though is that once the seed is down it will need watering, and if the drought is prolonged into 2025 there may be even more serious watering restrictions.
Another thing to consider: the old practice of what was called “winter dormant overseeding.” I touched on this a few months ago and was able to get some expert feedback telling me that this practice is useless and there is no evidence that it’s anything but a waste of seed, time and money.
Drought also influences our wildlife, which then has an effect on our gardens. Deer and rabbits are finding less and less browsable growth simply because the drought has stopped or stunted the growth of the plants they might feed on in the wild. As a result, these animals and others will seek out our gardens and shorter trees and shrubs as sources for food. It’s not too late to fence them. My well-budded magnolias are now bud-less from the ground to about four or five feet, and I’ve seen where the deer have dug into the ground to get to the crowns of dormant perennials.
Above ground, rabbits will reach up as far as they can stand or lean to get a few bites. The deer, on the other hand, will begin to browse on shrubs and fruit trees that you may have never seen them go after before.
If you stayed on a watering schedule for newly planted trees and shrubs in the fall you may have saved these plants from death by drought. But you still need to be vigilant through the winter, and when the ground is thawed several inches down these plants will benefit from watering. Water slowly and deeply if you can and use a light mulch to help stave off the surface evaporation of your water.
Snow cover for all plants is beneficial in a drought, but it takes a lot of snow to equal an inch of rainfall. On average it takes 13 inches of snow to equal one inch of rain. And if the ground is frozen when that snow melts the snow acts as good insulation, but the melt can simply run off without getting into the ground. It’s not often that the East End gets 13 inches of snow, and even double that would still only make a small dent in the moisture our soils and water table need.
If you’ve planted any evergreens in the past six months a spray of an antidesiccant or antitranspirant might be helpful this winter. Either product essentially reduces the amount of water that evaporates from the leaves or needles of the plants and thus saves some of the water the plant will try to move out of the ground and up into the plant. These products are especially helpful in exposed areas along the beaches (bay and ocean) as well as near the dunes and in wind-swept areas. Spraying can only be done on days that are mild and sunny; think January thaw.
Fruit trees (and some flowering trees) may have been damaged by the drought by only allowing new buds to partially develop. We’ll get the first hint of this when the forsythia opens, and you may notice thin flowering or smaller flowers. Watch your fruit trees for bud development then the following flower development. If you do have fruit trees or blueberry bushes, quince or other shrub berries, it won’t hurt to water them in the spring as soon as the ground thaws.
Remember that you don’t water a tree or shrub (fruit or ornamental) at the trunk. This seems to be a common mistake among gardeners. Most of the water that these plants “take up” is at or near the drip line — the point at which precipitation freely falls from a leafed-out tree and drops to the ground. This spot will depend on when you planted the plant and if it was balled and burlapped or container grown, but it’s much easier to locate on established trees.
Then there’s the question of fertilizer. As a rule, we don’t fertilize plants that are stressed, and drought is a big stressor. However, heavy feeders like fruit trees will be an exception, and as long as you are irrigating them they should still get fertilizer. Late winter and early spring feeding with a needle-type injection feeder would be much preferred to granular or “spike” type fertilizers in droughty times.
What about roses? Like the other plants I’ve gone over, roses will still have active root growth if the soil is 50 degrees and higher. So come spring, if the drought continues, you should water your roses (root zone only please) at least weekly and deeply. There is good news though. The lack of rain at the end of last year’s growing season means less spread of rose diseases that rely on leaf moisture and rain droplets to move the disease organisms from leaf to leaf and plant to plant. However, if you watered your roses last fall and got the foliage wet each time, you won’t get this benefit.
The spring-flowering bulbs that were planted in the fall? Before the ground freezes in the fall the spring-flowering bulbs establish their roots. Or they tried to. In early spring these roots supply the moisture that the rest of the plant needs to develop stems, foliage and finally the flowers. A dry fall retards this root development, but it remains to be seen how this will affect the spring flowers. Remember that especially with tulips the flower buds are formed the summer and fall prior to blooming. Less water in a drought situation will result in smaller flowers, and you can make up for this by watering in the spring. There was also the issue of smaller sized bulbs being available during the planting season so it’s a double whammy.
As plants begin to bud out in March and into April watch the buds to see how and if they develop. Watch the stems and branches, especially on fruit trees to see the annual growth on these tree parts to gauge against a “normal” year’s growth, and if you have an arborist who works on your property ask him or her to show you the 2024-25 growth and if it’s normal or stunted due to the drought.
Come warmer weather it’s natural to think that trees, shrubs, berries and perennials will need fertilizer. Go lightly this spring because if our weather patterns don’t call for “normal” precipitation the fertilizer may just be wasted.
As of early January the seasonal precipitation forecast for the Northeast doesn’t give us many clues. The December 19 update indicates there are equal chances of less rain and more rain. Just be vigilant, and when things go wrong with your plants (other than annuals) do your best to find out if what you’re seeing could be related to the 2024 drought. Keep growing.
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