Your new landscape needs your attention. Though Eagleson Landscape Co. takes care of fertilizing and pruning with our plant installations, there is one thing they will need daily: water. Your plants can’t get up and go to the kitchen, get a glass of water, then return to their spots (if they do, tell us because you have very unique plants!), so you will have to give them a drink when they are thirsty.
On the surface, watering sounds simple; in reality, it is anything but. Watering is not like clock-work. You can’t just water on Tuesdays at five for 3 minutes and be good to go. Needs for plants change by type, size, soil media it arrives in, soil media it’s planted in, and prevailing weather conditions. We actually find the intricacies of watering plants very fascinating, but we’ll keep it short and as simple as we can here.
A new landscape installation will often have quite the variety of plants, and therefore have varying watering requirements. For example, evergreen plants in an earth ball will need far less water than a leafy plant in a container. With our landscape installations, we will inform you about any unique plants with special watering needs. A good general rule of thumb though is if it’s dry, water it; if it’s wet, don’t. To determine whether you water or not, you just have to check the soil daily. Put your finger in the dirt around your plant; if it feels muddy your plant is good on water. If it is dusty and crumbly, your plant needs a drink. If your finger hits hard on top of the soil because it’s so dry, you should have watered it yesterday. Err a tiny bit on the dry side more than the wet side. Plants are all lousy swimmers.
The first 1-2 weeks is the most critical for new plants. Irrigation systems won’t do you much good because they will overwater some of your plants and underwater others. Irrigation systems are great once things are established, but not when plants are brand new. Even if your bushes or hydrangeas are right next to a pond, that won’t make a difference when they are new because they will only care about what’s right around their roots.
Landscaping Tips: The Eagleson Watering Method
We recommend a cyclical method of watering, and to always water plants at their base. Stand in one spot and water several plants at once. Sit for 10-15 seconds on each plant, moving from plant to plant, then go back to plant number one because now the water you put on it the first time has soaked in and made that soil looser, allowing your second batch of water to soak in. Go through your cycle 2-3 times. If you just watered plants once for 45 seconds, most of that water won’t get to the roots; it will just run over the top of the ground. So move in cycles in one spot, then move on to the next spot. For trees, we recommend setting a hose at the base on a slow trickle for 10-15 minutes; the time will depend on its size, and of course the time will be longer for larger trees.
If your new landscape is installed in June, July, or August, you need to be especially consistent with your watering. If it’s spring or late fall, they won’t need as much watering, but it will mostly depends on weather. The monsoon days of spring will mean you probably won’t have to water at all, but the hot days of summer will mean they’ll need water every day. If you’re thirsty there’s a good chance your plant is thirsty. Usually after the first 10 days to two weeks, you can start backing off your watering to every 3 to 4 days, but again it depends on what the weather is doing. Have patience and faith, and your diligence will be rewarded with happy, thriving, colorful plants.
Have more questions about watering new landscaping? Run over here to this blog “Love Your Garden: Fertilizers and Watering Tips”, and feel free to email or call us at (317) 997-4803.
Eagleson Landscape Company provides landscape and hardscape services in the Greater Indianapolis area, including Carmel, Zionsville, Westfield, Fishers and Geist.
