Tip of the Week — 5/18/09
Posted in Gardening Tips on May 18th, 2009 by Sonia Uyterhoeven – Be the first to commentHow to Water Newly Planted Trees
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Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education at The New York Botanical Garden. Join her each weekend for home gardening demonstrations on a variety of topics in the Home Gardening Center. |
Newly planted trees are thirsty for water. On the day of planting, give them a deep soaking; then come back the next day and soak them again. The ground around the root ball of the tree will take up most of the water from the first day, and the second watering ensures that the root ball gets soaked.
If you walk around The New York Botanical Garden, you will notice that around newly planted shrubs and trees is a small berm of soil (part of the backfill). What we have done, basically, is to build a saucer around the woody plant that will help retain water.
The saucer should be the size of the root ball. When water is added to this makeshift well, it penetrates into the root ball (and hence the roots) rather than seeping into the disturbed soil around the plant. The berm should be broken down after several months and certainly by the end of the growing season. Distribute the soil away from the tree so that you do not alter the soil level around the root ball.
The easiest way for a homeowner to water a newly planted tree or shrub is to lay a hose at the base of the tree and run a slow trickle of water for several hours until the soil is thoroughly soaked. It is better to water your tree once a week with a deep soak than to water it frequently for a short time (which produces a shallow, weak root system).
For additional tips on watering newly planted trees… read more »