Tree & Shrub Watering Tips

Blanket watering your plant beds like you water your lawn leads to wasting water and money. During the summer it is a much better idea to selectively water your plants, as they need it. Plants only need watering in addition to normal rainfall when they start showing signs of drought stress. This will be evident by wilting leaves and loss of color in a particular plant. Unfortunately these symptoms are also signs of many other problems-including TOO MUCH water around the roots. So you should always physically inspect the area around the root zone before watering to see if the root zone is dry. If it is dry, water the plant. If it is soaked, you will need to find a way to keep some of the water away from the roots.

Most of us don’t have time to stand in the yard and hand water every plant on the landscape. For that reason, we suggest using methods of watering that place the water as needed around the individual plants needing water. A soaker hose allows water to slowly soak out around the base of a plant. You can attach a soaker hose to the end of your regular hose and thread the soaker hose around several plants at a time. Another type of selective watering is the drip irrigation line. This is a plastic line that has outlets that drip water slowly around the base of a plant.

Plants needing water should be watered at the rate of 1 gallon per foot. Flowerbed areas or ground cover areas should be watered at a rate of 50 gallons of water per 100 square feet. You should take the time to calculate how long it takes to apply this much water depending on your water pressure and the type of irrigation method you are using. Capturing the water in a container and timing how long it takes to apply the appropriate amount of water can accomplish this. Keep in mind that you need to water slowly enough to avoid runoff.