Atlanta Trees Are Endangered By Our High Temps

Yesterday was yet another ridiculously hot day in Atlanta.
Our last rain was May 26. We have a slight chance of rain today.
I know its June, but the temp gauge in our air conditioned car read 97 in the shade.
The trees need infrequent, slow/long, and deep watering.
Try to get 5-10 gallons of water for each inch of trunk diameter.
The tree's roots that absorb the most water are typically with the top 2 ft of soil. So . . . poke a series of 24" deep holes at the tree's drip line
Atlanta old growth trees blow over in the wind. Their root systems are not always deep enough to support the large canopies when threatened by the wind (and ice storms, too).
The damage is severe when these old trees fall.
Several years ago, friends of ours had an old tree fall in their yard. The 'thump' of it put a hairline fracture into a gas line, which leaked fumes into their home.
It would have killed a canary.
Large branches landed on their car, crushing the windshield.
This is a common occurence in town.
The local news often reports fatalities.
This morning, I yet again let a hose run around the drip line of the maple in our front yard, hoping to help.
This fall I hope to bring down the height of the tree's canopy 15 - 20 ft, in hope of minimizing the threat to our house. (I've been here 15 yrs and this tree has easily grown 30'.)
The 2 large pecan trees in our back yard are going to get a radical pruning sometime soon as well.
I hate to do it. It may extend their overall health and productive survival another century.
If you need tree work in the metro Atlanta area, I always reccomend Dekalb Tree Service (404 294-4877), for good work at a great price.