Case Study Update: Front Range Municipality, Colorado

Mr. Uriel Akiva’s TreeDiaper^® have served his trees well over years, so he provided us with an update. Mr. Akiva was the Parks Program Coordinator for Front Range Municipality in Denver Metro area.

Back in early July, 2017, it was found that over two dozen maples, catalpas, oaks and pears were showing severe drought stress symptoms even though the grass in the surrounding area, which was watered three times a week, was thriving. Within a month, it was clear that most of the trees were dying. A quick investigation uncovered that the moisture level at the root ball  (4" deep) of one of these trees was below 20%. Uriel even marked this tree with red paint, indicating that it was dead and needed to be removed. 

This is not unusual with irrigation systems designed for lawn grass that needs frequent watering, but no need to water more than 2" deep. The water need of trees is quite different and typically would require separate irrigation zones for deep watering. Even trees survive on lawn irrigation, the shallow watering may promote shallow roots, which can turn a short-term issue into long-term issues for the trees.

TreeDiaper^® is a life saver for plants suffering from drought.

Mr. Akiva didn’t have the budget or authorization to add deep watering irrigation zones. So he chose TreeDiaper for these newly planted trees. Based on the rootball sizes, 36-inch TreeDiaper® treemats were installed the next day after being soaked. The trees began to show new signs of life within a week, including the one marked with red paint. Aside from adding TreeDiaper® treemats, the only irrigation was the routine watering runs of the grassy areas. TreeDiaper® treemats absorbed the lawn irrigation or precipitation water, significantly reduced the evaporation loss and releases water only when soil dries. During the wet season or whenever there is standing water, TreeDiaper® treemats absorbed the excess water up to reduce the overwatering issues. 

According to Akiva, "The soil moisture levels at 4” depth outside the TreeDiaper^® ranges anywhere from 0-15%. Under the TreeDiaper^®, the moisture level is now 50-70%."

“Needless to say, your product is wonderful." - Uriel Akiva

Those trees continue to flourish! The next summer, three trees were planted with watering bags by another department and eight were planted with TreeDiaper^® treemats by Mr. Akiva's department. After initially filling the watering bags with water, the shortage of labor and equipment prevented them from being refilled regularly. and the trees soon died. Despite low precipitation, the trees with TreeDiaper^® have survived to this day, and they look great! TreeDiaper^® takes care of your plants when you don’t have the time to. The following two photos are trees with and without TreeDiaper^®. The results are clear; TreeDiaper^® works in areas with low precipitation like Denver Metro area Colorado (less 20" per year)!

TreeDiaper^® is also a big cost saver compared to installation of deep watering irrigation zones.

This case tells us it is not that trees need more water than grass, it is just that the typical lawn irrigation loses too much water through evaporation. By reducing the losses and deliver only when trees need it, TreeDiaper^® can save the irrigation costs by saving separate irrigation zones and water.

Depending on the ratio and layout of the projects, separate irrigation zones for trees can easily increase the total cost of the irrigation system by 30-90%. Due to the distance of trees, the cost of separate irrigation zones may be in range from hundreds to a thousand dollars each tree. By using TreeDiaper^® Mr. Akiva save his city a lot of money while keeping trees healthier and happier.

Save plants, save water, save labor, and save the planet!