By Phran Novelli

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - It’s really dry. Our lack of snow this winter, sparse spring showers, early summer temperatures and windy days have really dried out our soil. As trees and shrubs leaf out, they evaporate water even faster. So, any trees or shrubs planted less than a year ago may need watering.

Put a hose beside the plant and let water slowly trickle into the soil. Or, to water several plants at once, drill small holes in the bottom of clean, 5-gallon buckets and place one beside each plant; then you can just quickly fill each bucket with a hose once a week or so – the water will slowly seep into the ground through the holes in the bucket.

Keep an eye on the rainfall each week, and check the soil to see when plants need a drink – you don’t want to overwater which could rot the roots, and you don’t want to waste water either. Conserving water will become even more important if we don’t get more reliable rainfall in the weeks to come.