Table of Contents
- Initial Considerations When Watering Shrubs
- Watering Newly Planted Shrubs
- Watering Established Shrubs
- Shrub Watering Technique Tips
- Watering Your Shrubs Through the Seasons
- Monitoring and Adjusting Your Watering as Needed
- Want Shrubs that Don’t Need Much Water? Try PrivacyShrubs.com
- Find High-Quality Shrubs and Water them Well
- FAQs about Watering Shrubs
Even if you have little to no experience tending plants, you likely understand one crucial fact: plants need water to survive. However, giving shrubs and other plants the water they need is a more complicated topic than you might think.
In fact, there’s a surprising amount of relevant information that will help guide you toward giving your shrubs the right amount of water at the right time. Since getting your watering habits wrong is a reliable way to cause your shrubs to fail, we’ve created this guide on the best practices of shrub watering.
In the sections to follow, we’ll cover everything you need to know about watering shrubs, including when, how, and how much you should water them. Read on to learn the vital details that will ensure your plants get the correct amount of moisture that will help them thrive in your garden.
Initial Considerations When Watering Shrubs
Before we get into watering specifics, let’s cover a few general considerations you should make before you set up a watering schedule for your plants. Answering the three questions below will give you essential background facts that will inform your watering tactics.
What Shrub Species Do You Own?
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Each shrub species has unique preferences regarding how much water they need and when it’s best to give it to them. Take time to research the needs of each individual shrub you own to ensure you have a general idea about how much water they typically need. While some shrubs grow well with little to no water at all, others need to receive water on a consistent and frequent basis.
What Are the Drainage Capabilities of Your Soil?
The drainage capabilities of the soil in your yard impact what plant species can grow there and how you should go about watering them. For instance, sandy soils drain water very quickly, leaving minimal opportunities for your shrub’s roots to soak up the moisture. By contrast, clay soils often become waterlogged and can quickly kill plants that don’t enjoy “wet feet.”
Regarding soil drainage, the ideal soil type is loam, which strikes a balance between adequate drainage and moisture retention. In other words, this soil type holds enough water for your plant’s roots to absorb while allowing excess water to drain.
Fortunately, if your soil drains too quickly or too slowly, you can improve it through soil amendments. For heavy clay soils that hold too much water, adding sand, gravel, or perlite can help quicken drainage. For loose sandy soils that fail to hold water, adding an organic material like compost or manure is a viable way to slow the drainage rate.
What is the Typical Climate in Your Region?
The last of our initial considerations you must make is to understand the general climate of your region. Some regions in the United States remain hot year-round, while others have long, cold winters. Still, others undergo more continuous change through winter, spring, summer, and fall. Generally, the hotter your climate is, the more water your shrubs will need, and vice versa.
In addition to temperature, the estimated rainfall in your region plays a role, too. In areas that get consistent rainfall, providing supplemental water for your shrubs is less necessary. On the other hand, areas that receive minimal rainfall require you to water your shrubs more often.
Your study of climate factors does not need to be exact, but having a general idea of seasonal changes, temperature highs and lows, and anticipated precipitation rates will help you choose the right shrubs for your yard and understand how to water them properly.
Watering Newly Planted Shrubs
We just mentioned that each shrub species will have different watering preferences. However, these preferences come into play once the shrubs are established. The approach you should take for newly planted shrubs is much simpler.
Regardless of species, newly planted shrubs need a higher amount of water than established shrubs. Watering often throughout the months following planting helps new shrubs develop their root systems and adapt to their new growing location.
After planting a new shrub, you should plan to water it every day for the first one to two weeks. After those first two weeks, you can reduce your watering frequency to about once every other day or once every three days for the next 10 to 12 weeks. Once those weeks elapse, your shrub should be well-established in its new location.
The next topic that jumps to mind for many is how much water they should give to their shrubs during each watering session. You’ll often hear that you must water new shrubs deeply. However, this term is a bit vague. For a more exact direction, consider soil depth. Each time you water your shrub in the first 12 weeks after planting, you should provide enough water to moisten the first six inches of the soil.
Watering Established Shrubs
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As soon as your shrubs have been growing in your yard for three months or more, you’ll need to follow the specific watering needs of each shrub species you own. The only way to understand the watering needs of your shrub species is to study them in advance. As you’ll learn, the watering preferences of plant species can vary greatly.
As noted earlier, some shrubs need frequent watering, sometimes once per week during the growing season or more. Meanwhile, other shrubs have fantastic drought resistance, meaning that they rarely require you to water them.
Some shrubs may also have preferences for how much water they receive each time you supply it. For instance, if your shrub calls for shallow or light watering, you should water until the first one to three inches of soil is moist. For shrubs that prefer deep watering, you should moisten the first six inches of soil, as you would when helping a new shrub establish itself.
Natural rainfall will also be a factor in your watering frequency. Pay attention to how much water your plants receive from rainfall alone. At times, a significant rain event will provide enough moisture for your shrubs, even if they typically call for weekly watering. Again, checking how many inches of soil are moist after a rainstorm is the most direct way to evaluate how much water your shrubs have received.
Shrub Watering Technique Tips
At this point, you have a firm understanding of how often to water your shrubs and how much water to supply each time. Still, there’s more to learn about watering that will ensure your efforts are successful. Though it might seem like a simple endeavor, the manner in which you supply the water plays a role as well. As such, we’ll now touch on a few tips about shrub watering techniques.
Moisten the soil: Remember that your shrub's roots are the part of the plant that requires water the most. Each time you water, you should apply the water directly to the soil that covers the roots. Soaking the soil allows water to seep down to the root system, which then absorbs the water and conveys it through the trunk, branches, stems, and leaves as the plant requires.
In most cases, it’s best to avoid what’s called overhead watering, which involves pouring water over the entire shrub rather than directly on the soil. The primary issue with overhead watering is that it moistens the leaves too much, which encourages fungal infections and other diseases.Water in the morning: Supplying water in the morning usually allows your plants to absorb as much of that water as possible. This phenomenon is partially due to the fact that the sun is not as strong in the morning hours. During the middle parts of the day and the early afternoon, strong sun rays can cause water to evaporate before it percolates into the soil where the roots can access it.
Additionally, morning watering can help prevent disease. If you happen to get some water on the leaves when watering, the daytime sunlight will slowly dry it so that it does not sit on the leaves for too long, potentially leading to disease. Watering in the evening or at night does not provide this same disease prevention benefit.Use the right tools: Garden hoses are a commonly accessible tool for most homeowners, and fortunately, they are fantastic for watering shrubs. However, your hose will be most effective if you purchase an attachment that has a mist, cone, or soaker setting.
These settings allow for even water distribution rather than producing a single strong jet. Still, a standard garden hose with no attachment will work fine as long as you allow the water to flow at a low to moderate rate. Soaker hoses are another excellent option, especially when you’re watering newly planted shrubs. Use this type of hose by laying it on the ground surrounding your shrub.
These hoses are perforated, allowing water to seep out the sides as it flows through. This action provides an even distribution of moisture over the soil’s surface. While there are plenty of other watering tools, garden hoses and soaker hoses are more than enough to get the job done for homeowners tending their gardens.
Watering Your Shrubs Through the Seasons
In some regions of the United States, the weather does not change much throughout the year. However, if you live in a location that experiences noteworthy seasonal weather changes, you’ll need to adjust your watering habits accordingly. The sections below will show you how.
Reduce Watering in Winter
Typically, in winter, many plants enter dormant phase, during which they do not put forth new growth. During the dormant phase, these plants are essentially in a state of complete rest as they wait for the next growing season to arrive.
Since most plants are not actively growing during winter, their need for water reduces dramatically. Additionally, the ground is often frozen during winter, meaning that it would not allow your plants to absorb the water you supply anyway. Given those two factors, you can often get by without watering your shrubs during winter at all.
Still, there’s a caveat here. If the winters in your area are mild, meaning that the ground does not freeze entirely and the temperature consistently reaches 40 degrees or more, it can be beneficial to give your shrubs some water occasionally. Still, water needs for your shrubs will still be lower than they are during the rest of the year since your plants should be in a dormant phase.
Water Moderately in Spring and Fall
Spring and fall are the easiest seasons in which to anticipate your shrub’s water needs. These seasons typically feature moderate temperatures that are neither extremely hot nor cold. The presence of these moderate temperatures means that all you need to do is follow the watering frequency that your shrub species calls for.
Of course, if you experience unseasonably hot or cold weather or abnormal changes in precipitation rates, you should adjust your watering schedule as needed. But with that said, adhering to the standard water needs your shrub species prefer will likely lead to success during spring and fall.
Be Ready to Increase Watering Frequency During Summer
Unsurprisingly, the summer months bring the hottest weather of the year. During heatwaves, the soil in which your plants’ root systems live will dry out more quickly than usual. As a result, your plants will have less access to the moisture they need.
High heat also places a general stress on your plants. In extreme cases, you may notice the leaves on your plants begin to curl during prolonged periods of hot weather. The leaves do this to prevent transpiration (the process by which they release water into the air) so that they can retain as much water as possible.
As is always the case, you should monitor your plants during the hot summer season. If you notice that the temperatures are consistently high, the soil is drying out quickly, or your plants appear to be stressed in response to the heat, increase your watering frequency to help them survive the hot weather.
Monitoring and Adjusting Your Watering as Needed
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Although following the best practices in this article will help your shrub care efforts, the reality is that watering correctly requires adaptability. For the best results, you cannot blindly follow the watering recommendations for your shrub species. Instead, you should consistently monitor your shrubs to understand what they need most.
As alluded to so far, this practice of monitoring your shrubs involves accounting for seasonal changes, weather patterns, and your shrub’s current growth phase. By addressing these factors and adjusting your watering based on them, you stand the best chance of achieving the ideal level of soil moisture for your shrubs.
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The easiest way to make watering your shrubs as straightforward as possible is to select species that are drought-resistant. Shrubs with drought resistance survive well through heatwaves and periods of minimal precipitation. They also remain resilient even if you forget to water them for a while.
To find the best drought-resistant shrubs you can own, check out PrivacyShrub.com. Along with these easy-to-care-for drought-resistant varieties, we have plenty of other magnificent plant varieties you should consider adding to your yard.
Find High-Quality Shrubs and Water them Well
By now, you know the basics of shrub watering, and you’re well on your way to guaranteeing that the plants in your garden have the moisture they need to grow and thrive. However, your watering efforts may still be unsuccessful if you start with low-quality shrubs. The best way to create a lush garden that provides beauty and privacy for your yard is to select plants from a trustworthy supplier.
At PrivacyShrub.com, we’re proud to offer a wide range of healthy flowering and landscaping shrubs and ship them across the continental United States. Start with a shrub from our selection, follow the watering tips in this guide, and soon, your yard will be full of lovely shrubs for you to enjoy.
FAQs about Watering Shrubs
Do you have more questions about shrub watering? If so, explore the sections below in which we’ve answered a few of the most commonly asked questions about watering shrubs.
How Can I Tell if I’m Watering My Shrubs Too Much?
Overwatering is a common problem for many gardeners and the plants they care for. Signs of overwatering are often present on a plant’s leaves. If you’re giving your shrub too much water, you can expect the texture and color of the leaves to change. Overwatered shrubs often have leaves that are brown, yellow, and somewhat mushy to the touch.
How Can I Tell if I’m Watering My Shrubs Too Little?
As is true regarding overwatering, the signs of underwatering will often appear on your shrub’s leaves. The leaves of underwater shrubs will often wilt and turn brown. The leaves can also become brittle and break easily. Additionally, consistently dry soil that begins to develop cracks on the surface is another sign that your shrub does not have access to enough water.
How Does Mulch Affect Shrub Watering?
Mulching plays a crucial role in watering and makes it easier for your plants to absorb the moisture they need. A healthy layer of mulch makes it far more difficult for water to evaporate out of the soil, even during hot weather. By keeping the moisture in the soil, mulch helps ensure your shrub’s roots access the water they need.
