Gardening
Watering
Establishment Period
The first 12 months in the life of a newly planted garden is called the
establishment period. This is your garden's brief childhood, and during this
time each plant's roots grow down and out in search of nutrients, oxygen and
the water needed to sustain growth. It is best to install young plants in the fall
so winter rains can supplement the extra irrigation they need when they are
young. Refer back to Baby Your New Plants for detailed watering instructions.
After That
After the establishment period, the goal is to reduce watering and let your
garden be water efficient.
Treat your moderate-water use plants like moderate water users and your lowwater-use plants like low water users. Re-program your controller appropriately,
using the Landscape Watering Calculator if needed.
Water moderate- and low-water-use plants once every two to four weeks for the
total minutes per week recommended by the Landscape Watering Calculator,
multiplied by the number of weeks between watering (two, three or four). If
your plants show stress, reduce the number of days between watering.
Focus watering on the area below the outside edge of each plant or tree canopy,
and use a dripline or multiple emitters to better distribute water along this edge.
How to Avoid Overwatering
Water-efficient plants react the same way to overwatering or underwatering;
leaves turn brown around the edges and drop off, and the plant appears stressed.
The only way to know if you are overwatering or underwatering is to check the soil
where the roots are. If it is moist, do not water.
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