How often do you water newly planted shrubs?

How often should I water my newly planted holly bushes? I suppose we will be getting a lot of rain since it is springtime, but I've read that you need to water in addition to the rain to ensure the plant is getting enough water.

Is a thorough watering once a week enough? Is there a way to check to see if they are getting enough water? How deep should the soil be damp?

Reply to
Ima Googler
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A newly planted bush, tree, or plant should be watered immediately after planting, and then watered again the following day (this is not true for cacti or succulents). The second watering is very important. I'd say it needs 1" of water weekly until it becomes established. Rather than check the plant, check your rain gauge. Protect with a layer of compost or mulch.

Reply to
Phisherman

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Reply to
dr-solo

Probably too late for this advice (hopefully they made it anyway) but container-grown transplants should be watered daily to twice a day (in smaller amounts right next to the plant) at first. The light potting mix generally dries out quite quickly while the native soil stays moist longer (YMMV). So when you check for moist soil, you need to check in the original rootball. After a week, taper off and gradually spread the water out farther and deeper. Once the plants root into the native soil, they will benefit more from the inch-a-week type recommendations. Difficult to guage when that is, but if all goes well you should be able to water normally after a month or so.

Reply to
Treedweller

Thanks everybody! I watered them really deeply twice on day 1 and then again on day 2.

I had been focusing on getting the area around the rootball to encourage the roots to grow outward, but I'll try to put more water onto the base of the plant itself as well.

Reply to
Ima Googler

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