Watering: A Subject That Simply Overflows

Creating different watering zones around your house.

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  • Topic: Watering
  • Author: Cindy Bellinger
  • Keywords: zones, microclimates, watering, hardiness, Watering
  • Date: June 2003

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Having a garden is all about watering. But the question is how much water and when?

My neighbor stands outside with sprinkler in hand. A friend is busy replacing emitters on her drip irrigation system. For myself, I have to take a watering can to the new lilac bushes, out where the hose won’t reach. Having a garden is all about watering. No matter what kind of garden we have, no matter where we live, the question of how much water, when and how becomes a huge subject.

Especially nowadays, with drought in so many regions, watering our gardens is a big concern, and this article addresses specific areas when it comes to watering:

  • Zones—Hardiness and Around Your Own House
  • Types of Soil
  • Water Quality
  • Kinds of Watering Systems
  • Watering Newly Planted Plants
  • Watering Established Plants
  • Grouping Like-Minded Plants Together
  • Zones-For Hardiness and Around Your Own House

With so many fires throughout the United States recently the advent of firescaping has completely turned our idea of garden design around. Now, not only do we need to think of the hardiness zones-both heat and cold-for our plants, but we need to think of the three main zones of water use around our house.

Visualize water-use zones like a target with concentric rings enlarging as you move away from your house. The center ring is the Oasis Zone; the one closest to the house-where the lush plants that need more water live. Not only will they slow fire, but they should grow here because they are also closer; it’s easier to water them here. These are also the plants that might need a little more fussing.

Moving out from the oasis is the Transitional Zone, where plants live that need less frequent watering and less pampering. This area then expands into the full-blown Xeric Zone, that area with sun-loving plants that seem to thrive on little attention and little if any additional water once established.

A number of cacti are native to the Great Plains. Whether found growing directly in the grasslands or in rock outcroppings, these species are the most moisture tolerant, cold hardiest and easily grown of the barrel-type varieties and include:

Grouping Like-Minded Plants Together

When planning your plantings, it makes sense to group plants together that tend to take the same amount of water. Plants should also be grouped together by cultural needs (sunlight, soil pH and soil type). Plants that like cool shady spots can be put in the same place just as plants that like sunny spots should be placed together.

Types of Soil

When considering water needs, knowing the kinds of soil is the next consideration. For an easy recipe think of it this way: The type of soil in your garden equals the kind of water treatment needed. Sandy soils drain quickly, making plants dry out more readily. Clay soils hold water but can also become soggy and tend to rot plant roots. Loamy soil will hold water yet let it drain, but not all plants prefer this richer environment.

Water Quality

The drought in the past few years has made us more aware of water, and more people are installing water catchment systems-from cisterns to water barrels under rain spouts. In turn, this is making us more conscious about water quality. After all, doesn’t your garden look happiest after a good rain? Water straight from the sky (or even from your roof into a bucket) is neutral and soft. There’s nothing like rainwater to perk up drooping plants. The next best thing is well water. But whether from community or private, well water in much of the western United States is hard and alkaline. Plants appreciate the moisture, but it’s not their favorite kind.

In recent years using gray water on landscapes has become a popular topic. This is water from dishwashers, bathtubs and washing machines. Because soaps, body oils and bacteria haven’t been documented to be harmful, this water is getting more attention. Most concerns focus on using gray water in vegetable gardens because those plants that will be eaten. New and modified gray water systems are extensive and expensive, but the conservation angle is quickly catching on.

Kinds of Watering Systems

So what’s wrong with a plain old watering can? Absolutely nothing. Sometimes in certain spots with certain plants it’s the only way to go. And nothing is more relaxing than standing in your garden and running the hose. That is, when you have the time. And that’s the thing about watering. If you don’t have some kind of automated system, you have to plan your days accordingly. Following are different time-saving ways to water.

Drip Irrigation is both wonderful and mechanically challenging. (See our sponsor DRIPWORKS). A hose is hooked to a water source on a timer that turns on a system of black plastic tubing that snakes through the garden. Small spaghetti-sized emitters come off the tubing and deliver water to your plants. The beauty is these systems can grow as your garden does. Merely add more tubing and emitters. Usually one emitter per plant will do with perennials and annuals, but larger growing woody plants will need more, depending on the plants water needs.

The downside of drip irrigation is once it’s installed it needs maintaining. The emitters can get plugged with dirt or pop out of the main hose. Sometimes the piping is chewed through by gophers or prairie dogs, drying out whole garden areas. But for the most part drip irrigation systems are wonderful time savers.

Soaker hoses are porous hoses that lie on top of the soil (and covered with mulch to hide them) where the water gently seeps out of them along their whole length.

Root feeders are pushed into the ground with a hose attached for deep underground watering.

Watering Newly Planted Plants

You go to the nursery, buy all those luscious plants, take them home and lovingly place them in the ground. Now what? It’s watering these new plants that brings up the big discussion of—

Frequency

As soon as you plant (and be sure to add some root stimulator that first watering), the rule of thumb is three times a week until established. Then again, it all depends on everything: type of soil, frequency of rainfall, amount of drying winds, levels of humidity and type of plant.

Amount

The rule of thumb here is that a 2 1/2”, quart and one-gallon potted plant needs a gallon of water at each watering. A five-gallon plant needs five gallons of water at each watering, and so on.

If you don’t have a sprinkler or drip system and will be watering by hand, try this helpful hint. Recycle some old nursery pots by cutting off a 3 to 4” ring from the top rim of the pot and pushing it into the soil around the plant. This will direct the water down instead of letting it spread. Fill the rim twice when watering. This works better than making rings of soil around the base of each transplant; these get washed away quickly.

Watering Established Plants

This depends on where you live and how much precipitation occurs during the growing season. In general non-xeric plants need irrigation one to two times weekly in summer. Xeric plants need a deep soaking once every week to ten days. Very xeric trees and shrubs need a deep soaking monthly if conditions are dry. Again the type of soil and weather conditions play into this. Watch plants for signs of flagging foliage and a grayish leaf color as their first cry for water. But the goal is to keep root systems from completely drying out. Deliver water slowly so it can penetrate and not run off.

However you water your garden just know you’re right in there with the rest of us-wondering how much and how often. And then it finally comes down to this: letting our plants teach us what really needs to be learned.