Watering newly planted shrubs

[jeh]

Hi - I'm never sure how much to water shrubs that have just been planted. Some say daily, others just when the top looks a little dry. I also am unsure just how long to water them...a month, depends on time of year, wait till new growth appears? I'm always afraid I'm going to drown them. I live in Camarillo, CA, about 45 minutes from the coast. So the weather here is generally pretty mild. What say you

[imafan26]

Before you plant the shrubs it is a good idea to do a percolation test to see how fast the soil drains. But if you didn't then if you have sandy soil that drains and dries fast, I would say daily, if you have more clay soil then I would make sure it drains when the plant is watered. I would water daily still while the plant is still being established. Depending on the shrub you planted you would have to back off watering slowly but still water regularly. Drought tolerant shrubs like rosemary need to be watered while they are establishing but can live on rain and deep summer watering after a year.

Watering should always be as needed.

[jeh]

Yeah, the soil here is clay, but I amend it well. I've done a lot of planting recently, and I check the soil moisture every day before I water. We've got some hot weather coming up, though, so I'll probably just water every day while it's hot. Thanks for your reply!

[rainbowgardener]

I would water as infrequently as you can, but be sure to water very deeply when you do. Frequent, small waterings encourage the development of shallow root systems. What you want is for it to send down deep root systems, that will help it be more drought tolerant later. Check after you have watered to see how deep the soil is moist. Sometimes you will be very surprised. You think you have watered a lot and yet only the top inch or so of soil has been moistened. Sometimes I put the hose on trickle or just above a trickle and just let it run for awhile. But once you have deep watered, don't water again until the top couple inches or so of the soil are dry. You want it to send down those deep roots looking for water. But if it starts looking wilty in the heat, then water again.

[jeh]

That makes a WHOLE lot of sense. I will do that. Thanks so much.