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Watering?

jamesharcourtjamesharcourt Posts: 465
in Plants
Some of the soil is dry (the bits which get direct sunlight on the soil) but other bits seem damp-ish on the surface but not soggy and definitely not waterlogged underneath.

There hasn't been much rain here and with some buds swelling I wonder if the young / newly planted trees and shrubs potted plants could do with watering now or after the leaves fully appear?

What are others doing for newly planted (i.e within the last 6-12 months) shurbs, trees and potted plants?

Posts

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Unless you're on really free draining , very sandy/ gritty soil, nothing should need watering now. IMHO
    Devon.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited March 2019
    Plants in the ground should be fine at this time of year.  Plants in pots may need watering as rain doesn't always penetrate deep enough, even when there's no foliage canopy i the way so poke in a finger.  If it feels dry, water but make sure the pots are up on feet so they can drain fully.  Don't want your roots getting water-logged.  It kills them unless they're aquatics.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Sometimes watering can do more harm than good, especially on trees and shrubs, soil is always wet deep down, the plants know this and will put down deep roots to find it, if you don’t water enough, the roots will come to the surface for the small amount you’ve put there. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I have been deep watering once a week for a few weeks now, because we haven’t had any rain since December. Despite being on clay, the ground is dry to at least a spade’s depth so I feel newly planted trees, shrubs and perennials need it. My early spuds are well chitted and should be in the ground by now, went to dig the trenches yesterday, but it was impossible. Seriously considering leaving the drip hose on overnight to try and make it workable
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • LittlegrowerLittlegrower Posts: 80
    I have free draining soil and the surface gets really dry even at this time of the year but I don't water. The soil should still be wet underneath. When I was removing a treet stump and dug around a foot depth was bone dry but deep down it was still wet.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Even on well-drained sandy soil, at this time of year I generally only water in newly planted/moved things immediately after planting,  my pots/tubs that are by the front door under an overhanging roof, and new mail-order plants that arrive a bit on the dry side. Dry soil on the surface near plantsn the ground doesn't matter as long as it's moist down where the roots are. Soggy/waterlogged would be more of a problem for many plants.
    If I had planted a large-ish tree or shrub last autumn and the soil was dry below about six inches down, I might be giving it a drink when the leaves start to open just to be on the safe side - it's pretty much impossible to over-water on this soil, but yours might be different.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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