How often to water

johannadinsdale

Might seem like a silly question but my parents weren’t much of gardeners. How often should I water the plants/trees in the garden? I now have a very large garden with full orchard and numerous flower areas and don’t have a clue what to do with it! Our soil is very sandy and seems dry all the time.

JennyJ

Welcome to the sandy soil owners' club! Most people on here seem to have either clay or nice loam.

Established plants shouldn't need watering unless we get a severe drought, even on sandy soil. Concentrate your watering effort on anything newly planted, and anything in a container. Lawns will go yellow/brown in a drought but will recover when it rains again so it's up to you whether you water them (I generally don't bother - the containers and the new plants need it more).

Stevedaylilly

Hi
My rule of thumb is a good watering once a week from late spring onwards is better than sporadic watering. Always water to the base of the plant for a more effective watering method. But as Jennyj as stated any new planted areas will need more constant watering compared to mature planted areas. I only planted out some young perennial phlox plants this early spring ( they had been potted up since August last year) and with this dry weather we’ve been getting they started to show sign of water neglect.This was after watering them each week since being planted.
Some plants enjoy moist drained soil other prefer dryer condition. I would read up on thier individual planting care and that should hopefully confirm their watering needs. Obviously, as the plants get more mature is should ease the watering regime but always remember overwatering is always better than a plant suffering from water neglect that may never recover 

Butterfly66

I try to only ever water plants when they are first planted, they get a good soaking and are then left to their own devices. The only exception would be if we then have a long spell of hot dry weather and any new plants are beginning to look droopy and remain so when it cools in the evening. Our last garden was very sandy too.

Newly planted trees are an exception and they usually need more watering for the first full season after planting.

During the summer drought a couple of years ago, we only watered plants which had been in less than 6 months and everything came through fine. We didn’t water the grass at all, which was white by the end if the hot spell but green within a day or two of rain.

Containers need watering maybe every few days - stick your finger in to check if the soil is moist a few inches down, if so they are fine. You soon get to ‘know’ your containers and how quickly they dry out.

Choose plants to suit your sandy soil and they should be fine left to their own devices.