Winter Watering After a Dry Colorado Summer: Keeping Your Landscape Alive Through a Second Dry Season

Most years, a dry summer gets a break once winter snow arrives. This year isn't offering that break. Colorado's snowpack is running well below normal heading into this winter, following an already dry summer — Front Range water providers, including Denver Water, have declared Stage 1 drought conditions in response to the lowest snowpack on record for this time of year. For homeowners in Douglas, Arapahoe, and Elbert Counties, that means landscapes are heading into a second consecutive dry season with no real recovery in between. Winter watering isn't optional this year — it's the difference between a landscape that bounces back in spring and one that doesn't.

Why This Winter Is Different

Established landscapes normally coast through winter on stored soil moisture from fall rains and snowmelt. When both summer and the following winter run dry, that reserve never gets replenished. Add Colorado's typical winter conditions — low humidity, high wind, and intense high-altitude sun — and plant roots can dry out even while the plant looks dormant and fine above ground. The damage from winter desiccation often doesn't show up until spring, when a shrub or evergreen that looked healthy in January fails to leaf out.

When to Water

Water only when air temperature is above 40°F and the ground isn't frozen — applying water to frozen soil does nothing for the roots and can create ice hazards. Aim for the warmest part of the day, generally midday, so water has time to soak in before temperatures drop again overnight. During a dry winter like this one, plan on watering once or twice a month rather than skipping the season entirely.

How Much to Water

• Newly planted trees: about 10 gallons per inch of trunk diameter — a 2-inch trunk needs roughly 20 gallons per watering.

• Established trees: water at and beyond the canopy's drip line, not just at the trunk, since that's where the active roots are. Apply enough to soak the soil to about 12 inches deep.

• Shrubs: 5 to 18 gallons per application depending on size.

• Perennials and groundcovers: a slow, deep soak is more effective than frequent light watering — it encourages roots to grow down rather than staying shallow and vulnerable.

A soaker hose or a simple deep-root watering needle makes this far less tedious than standing there with a garden hose, and both apply water slowly enough to avoid runoff on Colorado's clay soil.

Who Needs It Most

Not every plant in your yard is equally at risk. Prioritize winter watering for:

• Newly planted trees and shrubs — anything installed in the last one to three years hasn't built the root system to survive on its own yet.

• Evergreens — they keep transpiring moisture through their needles all winter, unlike deciduous plants that have shed their leaves.

• South- and west-facing plantings — these get the most direct winter sun and dry out fastest, especially near pavement or south-facing walls that radiate extra heat.

• Anything in a raised bed, container, or narrow parkway strip — smaller soil volumes dry out much faster than open ground.

Who Can Skip It

Established native and xeric plants — the kind we've covered in our low-water plants for Castle Rock and Parker yards guide — are built for exactly this kind of stretch. Mature, well-rooted natives generally need little or no supplemental winter water even in a dry year like this one. If you've already moved toward a xeriscape or drought-tolerant design, this is where that investment pays off.

Don't Skip the Mulch

A 2-to-3-inch layer of mulch over root zones does double duty in a dry winter: it slows moisture loss from the soil and buffers root temperatures against Colorado's wide day-to-night swings. If you haven't mulched beds and tree rings going into winter, it's still worth doing now.

Check Your Water Provider's Winter Rules

Summer watering-day restrictions typically don't apply in winter, but as drought conditions escalate across the Front Range, some providers are adjusting policies faster than usual this year. Before you set a routine, confirm current rules with your provider — Parker Water & Sanitation District, Castle Rock Water, or Highlands Ranch Water, depending on your address. If you're also weighing a lower-water redesign, our posts on smart irrigation and watering restrictions and Colorado's HOA xeriscape law cover the rules and rebates available right now.

Bottom Line

A dry summer followed by a dry winter is a tougher combination than most Front Range landscapes are used to. A little supplemental watering through the cold months — targeted at the plants that need it most — is far cheaper than replacing trees and shrubs that don't make it to spring.

Not sure which parts of your landscape are most at risk this winter? Call HI-DEF Landscapes at (303) 332-2459 for a free assessment in Douglas, Arapahoe, and Elbert Counties.

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Sources referenced for accuracy: CPR News and Colorado Sun reporting on 2026 Colorado snowpack and Denver Water's Stage 1 drought declaration (March 25, 2026); Colorado State University Extension "Fall and Winter Watering of Plants and Trees"; Denver Botanic Gardens "Winter Watering in Colorado"; Denver Water Tree Care Guide.