Water your new plants for establishment
We should all strive to create planting schemes that are sustainable, allowing our plants to cope with extremes of weather without relying on external watering.
However, you will need to water newly planted plants to establish them, even if they are carefully selected to withstand some drought. Without some water, they will struggle in the first year during times of dry weather, especially if it is windy.
Dry and windy is a bad combination for plants. The wind in particular will strip water from the plant and as they have not yet established their root system at the same time as drying the surface of any bare soil.
How to water your new plants
WATER. First, water them in on planting. Then give your newly planted plants a good soaking once a week during dry weather, especially if it is also windy, to prevent the plants getting stressed.
So how can you help your new plants get established?
Apart from preventing immediate stress, giving a good soaking once a week will help the plants to establish a good root system. It will encourage them to send their roots deep. In the long run, it will be these deep roots that will help bring your sustainable planting scheme to fruition. Conversely, light watering will only encourage surface roots that will leave your plants susceptible to drought in the future.
Apply water directly to the base of the plant where it’s roots are using a hose on a gentle setting or a watering can with rose.
MULCH. Add a thick (at least 5 cm) mulch of compost, composted bark or gravel, depending on your scheme, to keep the water in and protect the bare soil from drying out. In time, a green, living mulch will work wondered for maintaining moisture levels and creating a sustainable planting scheme.
We recommend capturing water in water butts for watering if possible. However, where mains water is needed to be used, water wisely in the evening targeting just the root ball of the plant.
Taking care with your newly planted plants – during the first year especially – will reap rewards in years to come.
How to establish plants in containers
Containers are not really a sustainable method of planting, but they can add to a design if you are prepared to look after the plants. Watering and mulching should be applied to plants in containers, whether newly planted or otherwise. They will likely need daily watering, depending on the size of the container, to stop them drying out during dry weather, especially if windy. Using large sized containers holds larger volumes of compost-enriched soil that will take longer to dry out.
Grouping containers can increase humidity levels between them reducing the need for watering. Mulching the top of the soil in the containers with a thick layer of composted bark or gravel will also reduce evaporation from the soil surface and keep roots near the surface cooler, reducing stress. It will also minimise weed germination allowing any available water to go to the plants you want.
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