Working at a landscape company, I trained many a newbie on watering effectively. The art of watering is crucial to raising healthy plants. Here are the top guidelines on watering.

Water Wise Guidelines:

1. Water Containers When Needed-Watering on a schedule, like every morning, is not the best way to water. Irrigate after first determining that your plants need it by inserting a finger down into the soil a couple inches. If the first inch or so is dry, but down further is  moist, wait a day. Then……. saturate thoroughly. For containers, don’t think you need to water those pots every day so that they become soggy. Even if your pots have excellent drainage, watering every day is usually not needed for larger pots(over 15″ in diameter), unless you have exceptionally hot days and your plants are really large.
2. Timing– The best time to water is the morning. Evening watering can lead to fungal growth.
3.  Planting Transplants– Water plants as soon as you get them in the ground. Allow the water to soak in, then water again until the soil is thoroughly moistened. When you plant a new transplant, air pockets form around the root ball because soil can be back filled unevenly to the hole. Watering will ensure that the soil will blanket the tender exposed roots completely.
4. Newly Planted Timing-Water new perennials or annuals daily or every other day. For shrubs and trees with larger root balls, once a week is usually sufficient. Again, use the finger test, directly into the root ball. Just planted roots will be able to absorb soil moisture from only a small area until they begin to grow. If the surrounding soil is dry, it will wick out any water that you add to the plant that you just put in the ground.
5. Deep Roots-Encourage deep roots by allowing the top inch or two of soil to dry before watering.
6. Mulch-Mulch for moisture retention. Mulching the surface of the soil reduces evaporation so you can water less often. Only use between 1 to 2 inches of mulch. Don’t pile up too much around the base of the plant.
7. Too Dry-If you let your containers dry out completely-you can tell as the plants are wilted- added water tends to slide down the sides of the pot and won’t moisten the root zone. Make sure that you apply water directly to the root zone and that it sinks in. If you are dealing with a mass of compacted roots, I even stab the root ball with a stake to loosen it so that water penetrates.
8. Rain Water-Don’t depend on rain water to completely water your plants. Rain can be light and sporadic and not soak into a compacted root zone. Unless you get a gully washer or steady rain, don’t assume that your containers are watered.
9. Right Tools-Leaky fittings and kinky dry rotted hoses, can make watering frustrating. Many people who would spend a pretty penny on the latest electronic equipment or kitchen appliances, skimp on their watering tools. For hose suggestions, go to Tools of the Trade. Dramm offers a high quality lifetime warranteed hose with crush proof nickel-plated couplings. No more ruining a hose by running my car over it!
10. Sprinklers & Watering Cans-Think of sprinklers as one tool in your tool box. Don’t rely on them solely as they soak the top inch of soil in a wide area and can’t do a good job for deep watering. Watering Cans-You can never have enough watering cans lying around. I have at least 8-10 of them scattered around so I can find one immediately to hand. Invest in a larger one than the normal 1 gallon one found at Home Depot. Walmart carries the 3 gallon one pictured here.

Hand Watering-The Right Stuff

I am very particular about nozzles, sprays, and wands or handles. Again, the right equipment makes watering so much easier and more efficient. I am always amazed at people who have the latest car with all the most expensive features, but in their back yard have a leaky faucet with cheap hoses and appliances. Dramm Corporation offers a variety of specialty water breakers or nozzles for the amateur and professional grower.

Using Dramm’s tools exclusively has really sold me on their quality and toughness. A family run business in the USA, the company which started manufacturing their water breaker in inventor’s John Dramm’s basement,  has been in the horticulture business for over 75 years. I see them used everywhere by professionals in greenhouses and nurseries. Also producing other horticultural equipment like fertilizers, cutting tools, and aprons, watering equipment is Dramm’s core business.

Dramm Versatility

Many types of watering situations are in a home garden – from starting seedlings and transplants to watering newly planted large trees and shrubs. It is easy to change the handle and the head easily with the large shut off valve without making a trip back to the faucet to turn the water flow off.

Wands or handles come in 16″ or 30″ lengths to reach into difficult to get to places, like a hanging plant massed with foliage that is hard to penetrate. The thumb valve works with a flick of your thumb so you can turn off the water as you move around to different plants.

Waterbreaker Heads

I love the term- ‘waterbreaker’! The nozzle or waterbreaker actually breaks the water into many streams which adds air to the mix. Oxygenating your water flow is really important to healthy plants, especially to compacted soils, which you might find in containers. Softening the flow from a high-powered hose so you don’t disturb the soil and damage tender plants, keeps your plants healthy and looking good. With newly placed mulch placed around the plant base, you don’t want to wash away all that mulch that you just carefully placed. The original Dramm 400 nozzle has 400 holes and if you have low water volume like a well with lower water pressure, the 170 nozzle with micro-fine holes would work as it restricts the total water volume that gets to the nozzle.

The Dramm Screen-Aire waterbreaker is designed to water containers with a gentle, concentrated aerated flow of water. A fine-mesh screen and internal components combine air and water to produce a very soft, unrestricted spray. I love this one! Watering in my new greenhouse is easy with this particular waterbreaker.

For my miniature gardens, I use  the 480 waterbreaker with extra fine holes so it doesn’t disturb all my miniature accessories. There is even a brass seedling nozzle with one hole to water my tiny cuttings.

Slow & Deep

Think slow and deep for watering your plants in a container or in the garden to save time, water, and plants. A quick splash of water leads to shallow root systems and high water loss through evaporation. One deep watering will encourage deeper rooting, which leads to stronger, healthier plants.