Tree watering

Help to boost the number of trees within the London Borough of Richmond.

Watering programme

We employ a specialist arborist contractor to plant and care for trees. The contractor carries out a programme of watering, which begins in April and continues throughout the growing season. We have a baseline watering frequency of ten visits per year. However, this is dependent upon weather conditions, so during hot and dry spells we operate increased watering regimes. We will monitor the condition of the tree to ensure that it is receiving adequate aftercare.

Help us keep young trees healthy

With increasing risk of heatwaves and drought, community watering to support Council efforts is becoming increasingly important, especially as we have over 1,800 young trees to attend to across the borough.

With help from the community, we can ensure our trees are able to thrive, accelerating growth rates and maximising the benefits they bring to people and biodiversity.

During hot and dry conditions, you can support us by watering newly planted street trees, following these simple instructions:

• Use two watering cans (containing around 10 litres of water in total) per tree, ideally every two days
• Half the water (about 5 litres) should be poured into the installed watering tube and half poured over the surface of the tree pit (see picture). This is best done in the evenings or early mornings, to reduce water loss through evaporation that is more likely during the day
• Where possible, we encourage the use of collected rainwater and grey water (for example bath or washing up water – water containing soap isn’t a problem)
• Please communicate with your neighbours, to help coordinate watering efforts, share the load and prevent overwatering