Kelowna Ticketing Homeowners Failing to Water & Protect Boulevard Trees (Good On Kelowna)

Kelowna: Ticketing Homeowners Failing to Water & Protect Boulevard Trees (Good On Kelowna)

…”The City of Kelowna is updating its rules around boulevard maintenance, and residents could be ticketed for failing to care for street trees or improperly altering boulevards…

Property owners are responsible for watering boulevard trees and plants that have a common boundary with their lot, and if bylaw amendments are approved by council, bylaw officers will be able to issue tickets for violations….

A staff report says the changes aim to protect boulevard greenery, manage storm water, and maintain the city’s urban forest.

However, issues such as unwatered trees, paving over gravel strips, and adding unsuitable plants have created problems for the city and properties neighbouring boulevards.”…

How and When Should Trees Be Watered?

Most mature trees should be watered once a month when the weather is dry.

In California* this means during the summer. .(*this would be West Vancouver as well)…

Trees need deep, slow watering to encourage a healthy root system.

You can’t rely on sprinklers to do the job because they don’t saturate the ground deep enough to reach the roots.

Instead, follow these tips to water mature trees in California” (emphasis added)

…Deep, Infrequent Watering:

Just like with plants and lawns, it’s far better to water less often and deeply.

For mature trees, once a month works well in the absence of rain.

Deep watering encourages the roots to venture down into the soil, building resilience against drought conditions, disease, and pests.

Use soaker hoses or drip irrigation systems to gradually release water to the soil over a longer period of time.” (emphasis added)