In March 2023 I got a message from a consultation customer after they planted their new landscape. They asked me how often to water their new plants. Here’s my reply to them, just in time for summer heat and our regularly scheduled July 15-August 15 drought in Austin. Like most gardening questions, the answer is complex.
First off, before you water you should check to see if the soil in the planting area is dry or wet. You can use your fingers to touch the surface of the soil underneath the mulch. Be sure you are touching the soil and not just touching mulch.
The soil should feel wet like a wrung out sponge for the first 2-4 weeks after planting. Don’t let them dry out. Depends on your weather and soil how often. Most likely it will be every 2-3 days that you need to water.
After the first month you can go down to once every 5 days, and it’s ok to let them dry out a little between waterings.
Trees require a different schedule than the rest of the landscape. See my blog post about watering trees here.
Then next spring you can back off to watering once each week using the same method listed above. Then in the third year and later you can water as needed- if we go for more than two or three weeks without rain at any time of the year, I recommend watering.
Please keep in mind that these instructions are merely guidelines, and the amount of water plants need varies wildly depending on temperatures, air humidity, wind and your soil. When in doubt, use your finger to check the soil near the plants.
Things to look for:
Plants with yellow leaves that look weak and slightly wilted: this is sometimes a sign of over watering or an insect problem.
Plants with curled leaves or wilted leaves that are brown on the tips or edges: under watering. Try increasing the duration of time that the water is on each time you water.
One last tip:
It is always better to water for a longer duration time and less frequently than to water every day for a short time. Watering for a long duration encourages roots to grow further into the ground toward soil that stays moist for a long period of time, so the plants will be less dependent on irrigation. Over-watering can cause the proliferation of root pests like grubs and fungal diseases.
Finally, plants die for no apparent reason sometimes, so if you loose one or two that is ok.
For my Blog readers, you can find a sprinkler, soaker hose and landscape staples here on my recommended products page. I haven’t found a hose nozzle, digital irrigation timer, soil moisture meeter or a watering can that I want to recommend yet. If I ever do, I will add them. But all of the ones I have tried so far break or have design flaws.
