Local Gardeners
How Often Should New Plants Be Watered?
Mornings are usually the best time to water your new plants, as they can soak up most moisture from your watering. If your water is in the middle of the day, sunlight can negatively affect them, as the water will evaporate too quickly. You can also water the plants in the evening when the sun sets, and temperatures have dropped.
How Often to Water New Plants?
There is no specific and universal formula for watering frequency for all plants. The watering schedule may be affected by several factors, such as plant type, location, soil type and weather.
Plant Type
Watering new trees and watering new flowers are two things that have different needs. Bigger plants lose water faster and require more nutrients, as trees are larger and have more leaves, so they need more water. If the plant you’re watering has plenty of flowers, you should also give it plenty of water.
Planting Location
Consider restriction of roots when you plant new vegetation. If the plant is boxed in by any walls around it or placed in a container, the water will dry up faster, so more frequent watering will be necessary. Plants in a border will need less watering because more soil means more moisture.
Soil Type
Whenever you water, there is always some water left behind in the soil. No plant can drink it all up, so keep that in mind. Keep away from clay soil as much as you can. It may be capable of retaining much water, but plants find it hard to extract it from within that soil. Sandy soil is the best in this case, as minor and often watering can have the best impact. The plants will get a constant supply of moisture that way.
The Weather and Seasons
It would be best if you were on the lookout for rainfall. If it’s already raining outside, skip the watering for apparent reasons. The plants won’t need it. Look at the soil before you water, as the top five centimetres need to be completely dry. If they’re moist, then once again, skip watering. If there is too much rain, as is often the case in the UK, you won’t need to water as much. If you have hot and sunny days ahead, keep an eye on the plants and their water needs.
How Often Should You Water?
If you are looking for a general rule, you should water every day for the first week. Reduce the watering frequency to every other day during the second week, and then water the plants a couple of times a week. If the plants are succulents, you should ignore that and water plants every other day, then a couple of times a week, and from the third week, only once weekly.
Signs You’re Under or Overwatering
Your plants will show you if you’re getting watering wrong. New plants that are underwatered won’t grow as well as you might expect. They will not produce flowers or fruit, and their leaves may start to wilt, curl or lose their shine.
Pick up the pot and check out how it feels. If it’s falling over on windy days, the soil lacks moisture and needs more. Brown or yellow leaves, root rot and perforations on the leaves show that you’re overwatering your plants. Your new plants will be fairly safe from overwatering if the soil has good drainage.
