How much water for newly

msalcido · Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:37 pm

planted crepe mrytles. I'm in East Tx Zone 7/8. I have 10 newly planted crepe mrytles and I water deeply once a week. The temps are now dropping and I was wondering how oftern I should water them?

rainbowgardener · Sat Nov 12, 2011 12:38 am

Assuming you get SOME rain during the winter, I would water very deeply just as the trees are going dormant and then not at all once they have lost all their leaves. Start watering again when the buds are swelling in the spring if you aren't getting adequate rainfall. A layer of mulch around the tree, but not too close to the trunk, will help the soil hold moisture and protect against freeze /thaw cycles.

msalcido · Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:09 am

Thanks! Can I ask another question? Every thing I've read says not to put mulch to close to the trunk, what is the reasoning for this? I've got all the trees mulched and it goes right up to the base of the trunks. Should I move the mulch away?

rainbowgardener · Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:28 am

Mulch up against the tree trunk holds moisture there and keeps air circulation away, so it can rot it out. And it can be a good place for insects and even mice.

Yes pull your mulch a few inches away.

msalcido · Sat Nov 12, 2011 10:49 pm

Thanks for the info. I have moved the mulch back from the trunks.

rainbowgardener · Sun Nov 13, 2011 3:15 pm

Marlingardener wrote:Mike, as usual Rainbow is right on target. Mulch around any plant should resemble a volcano with a crater, not an Alp. Beetles and other insects can use the mulch as cover while they do great damage to the stem or trunk of a plant.
If the Texas drought persists, I'd give the crepes a deep watering in late January, just to be on the safe side. If you get rain, hold off on watering.

Yeah, I did say in there about the watering "assuming you get SOME rain" in the winter, because I'm aware that Texas is in a huge drought and in fact you might not get much significant rain. So yeah, Mg is right (as usual

) if you don't get noticeable rain, then they would need to be watered once or twice through the winter.

msalcido · Sun Nov 13, 2011 5:54 pm

if you don't get noticeable rain, then they would need to be watered once or twice through the winter.

So no need to water deeply once a week once the leaves fall off, even if we don't get much rain? As for the mulch, I've moved it back from the trunks of the crepes and also all my other plants!

Thanks for the info and assistance!

rainbowgardener · Mon Nov 14, 2011 7:21 am

No, once it is dormant, you definitely do not want to be watering it every week. It will be taking up very little water at that point and you would just waterlog it and possibly rot the roots out. Like Mg said, water deeply in JAN if you haven't had any noticeable rain. If you've gotten an inch of rain here and there, don't worry about watering before spring.