Yes, we got some rain ~ at last! ~ on Tuesday, September 11, but rainfall can vary around the state, and maybe there wasn't a lot where you live. I had two inches and a beetle in my rain gauge.
Until Tuesday, though, there had been not a drop since August 14th in most of Rhode Island. The reservoir levels are down, and so are a lot of leaves off shrubs and trees. Grass is dormant (we hope), and unless you have been watering your flowers and vegetables, they may not look so great either.
At North Burial Ground in Providence, the new trees we planted this spring, as well as other trees planted in the past two years, are showing signs of great stress. If you have shrubs, trees, and perennials you have planted recently, be sure to give them extra water each week this fall to help them weather this drought. Plants need about one inch of rain a week ~ of course if we get that much or more in a day, it won't be necessary to water. It's also possible to drown plants by overwatering. But unless we get the deluges again like we had two years ago in October, remember to give some extra drinks to any newly planted trees, young or stressed street trees near your home or business, perennials, & shrubs.
