Watering your Plants
We have received several calls from customers that are concerned about their newly planted trees or shrubs. It’s a toss up as to what’s wrong, but it almost always comes back to watering. We always give out watering instructions when you purchase trees or shrubs so by all means read it thoroughly. However - some thoughts to remember…
1. Yes - we have had alot of rain - but around the Northfield area it is only a couple of tenths here and there and somedays it is during the course of several 5 minutes showers. The rain has to be enough to penetrate to the bottom of the plug of dirt that your plant has. Most shrubs will have a root ball anywhere from 10 to 20 inches deep. A quarter inch of rain is not going to get all the way through to the bottom of the root ball. You need to specifically water those new plants.
2. Please do not love your plants to death. They need to be watered - but don’t drown them. Keep in mind that the breathing roots on plants are typically within the first foot of the soil surface. If you saturate this by leaving the hose to trickle water - you don’t have any idea as to how much water you’ve given the plant. Most shrubs will need only a couple of gallons of water at each watering. A typical garden hose will pump out two gallons in about 20 seconds - you don’t need to let the hose run. To water 10 shrubs with 2 gallons of water each - will take you less than 3 minutes. Larger trees will need a little more water - check your watering instructions and know your soil conditions!
3. Mulching your plants will help retain moisture, control weed growth, keep lawn mowers and weed whips away, but it will also absorb that 1/4 inch of rain and nothing will get below to the root ball. Check the soil moisture if you’re not sure!
Please give us a call if you have questions concerning watering - we’ll be glad to answer them for you!
