Watering Tips for Your Landscape and Garden

Watering lawns, vegetable gardens, flowers and shrubs should be done in a way that provides the right amount of water they need to thrive, minimizes the time involved and conserves water.

Basic Tips for All Areas of Your Landscape and Garden:

Determine when watering is needed by checking soil moisture. If soil feels dry at a depth of 1 to 2 inches, it is time to water. Soil type will also impact how frequently you need to water. Sandy soil will dry out more quickly than clay soil.

Water the root zone, not the foliage. Roots absorb the water and foliage does not provide water the plant can readily use. Also, wet foliage can be more susceptible to disease. Water with a low force: a gentle shower is ideal. High water pressure can displace soil and damage roots. Use an adjustable garden hose nozzle with a shower or soaker option.

Water slowly, deeply and infrequently to promote deep roots and improve drought tolerance.

The best time to water is in the morning. This practice ensures plants are hydrated through the hottest part of the day and allows any wet foliage to dry quickly in the morning sun.

To determine whether you have watered enough, the root zone of the plant should be thoroughly wet. The soil should be moist to a depth of 5 or 6 inches. Dig a small hole in the soil and check.

Don’t overwater. Check the soil moisture frequently but only water when the soil feels dry 1 to 2 inches down.

If you use sprinklers, drip irrigation systems or soakers hoses a water timer can be a helpful tool to optimize the duration of watering and avoid running water unnecessarily.

Mulch can be used in most garden settings, even containers, to conserve soil moisture and reduce the frequency of watering. 

Make sure you have someone water your plants and garden if you are away for more than a few days.

How to Water…

Annuals and Container Plants

Soil in containers dries out more quickly than ground soil and needs to be checked every day. Water when dry, as much as daily during the hot days of mid-summer, and even twice a day if the container has a lot of sun exposure. Clay pots will dry out more quickly than plastic or glazed planters. 

For annual plants in ground soil test to see if the soil is dry to the touch at a depth of 1 to 2 inches before watering.

Vegetable Gardens

Vegetable gardens need about 1 inch of water a week, either from rainfall or applied. Watering can be extended over a few days during the week to meet the “1-inch” recommendation. Measure rainfall or the depth of water delivered to the soil with a rain gauge or shallow container. 

Concentrate water at the roots and avoid watering outside the root zone to help reduce the growth of weeds. 

Water needs are greater for plants when they are young, flowering and developing fruit (or developing roots in the case of root vegetables). Signs of drought stress are leaf curling or rolling, and scorched leaf margins.

Perennials

Water at the base of the plant, focusing on the root zone. If plants are very dry, apply water to moisten the soil around the roots and return 15 to 30 minutes later to water again and let it soak in.

Check the root ball of newly planted perennials and the surrounding soil and water when dry. New plants will need more frequent watering and should be flagged or labeled to make sure they receive enough water.

Plants that wilt during the day don’t necessarily need more water. Some plants wilt to conserve moisture and perk up in the evening. Check the soil moisture before watering.

Established perennial gardens should only need water during dry periods. Watering once a week in dry weather should be sufficient but always check the soil first.

Lawns

Lawns need 1 to 1 ½ inches of water per week to remain green and healthy. Ideally, the water should be applied in one application or in two applications 3 to 4 days apart. Rain gauges or shallow containers can be used to measure the amount of water applied.

Watering early in the morning allows water to soak into the soil and prevents evaporation. 

It is possible to let grass go dormant during dry periods for as long as 4 to 6 weeks without damaging the lawn. After that time lawns are at risk of dying and should be watered 1 to 1 ½ inches, and again 7 days later.

Newly seeded lawns will need to be watered once or twice a day. The top 1 inch of the soil should be kept moist. When the turfgrass is 1 to 2 inches high, the frequency of watering can be gradually reduced, and water should then be applied more deeply. After the new grass has been mowed 2 to 3 times watering once a week should be sufficient.

Watering Trees & Shrubs

New trees and shrubs should be watered daily for 1 to 2 weeks after planting, then every 2 to 3 days for weeks 3 to 12. After 12 weeks the trees and shrubs should be watered weekly, or when soil feels dry at a depth of 6 inches, until roots are established. Roots are established when the root spread equals the spread of the above ground canopy, which can take 2 growing seasons. 

Trees and shrubs in general should be watered when soil feels dry at a depth of 6 inches. Enough water should be applied to the root area to restore moisture at 6-inch soil depth. Cover as much of the root area as possible, not just the base of the trunk. Watering should be done in the early morning to minimize the amount of water lost to evaporation.

During periods of drought, prioritize watering young trees, then shrubs.  Large mature trees and shrubs do not need to be watered unless the drought is severe or they begin to wilt.

Evergreens should be watered deeply in the fall before the ground freezes if precipitation has not been sufficient to keep the soil moist. Evergreens lose water in winter and if the soil is dry, the trees can turn brown and die.

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Chapin Watering Products: Our Customer Favorites

Watering cans

are simple tools great for hydrating container plants and small gardens.  Mix in fertilizer, weed or pest control products to do two tasks at once.

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Hose nozzles

can reach into gardens, cover large areas and offer adjustable spray streams.  Use a gentle to moderate spray stream targeted to the roots of the plant. Avoid blasting your plants with water to avoid damaging roots and foliage and washing away soil. 

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Watering wands

extend your reach into gardens, landscapes and containers, making it easier to target the base of the plant.  They offer adjustable spray streams to control the spray pattern and water flow.

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Hose-end Sprayers

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Sprinklers

cover widespread or targeted areas of lawn, landscape borders and gardens.  These watering tools allow you to soak the soil when intermittent watering is required.

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Water timers

automate watering so you don’t have to spend the time directly delivering water to your plants with a hose and nozzle or watering can.  Timers can be paired with sprinklers, sprinkler systems, drip irrigation systems and soaker hose.  Duration and frequency of watering can be scheduled and adjusted depending on rainfall.

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ATV Sprayers

When your faucet is too far away, your hose doesn’t reach far enough, and you don’t have an inground sprinkler system you need to bring water to your plants in a different way. ATV sprayers can be mounted on ATVs, UTVs or lawn tractors and driven to areas that need water. ATV sprayers are typically used for fertilizing, weed and pest control, and there is no reason you can’t use them for watering too. The long hose provides extensive reach.

Water storage tanks are another option. They can be placed in a standard duty cart or mounted on a vehicle or trailer. Water is accessed through the drain port. Plants may also be watered through a gravity fed drip irrigation system with a hose.

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Sources

Iowa State University: Watering Tips for the Garden, Lawn, and Landscape

University of Minnesota Extension: Watering Newly Planted Trees and Shrubs

University of Maryland Extension: Watering Trees and Shrubs

Woodlands Water Plant Watering Guide