I would like to know how often that I should water my flower garden.

My understanding is that I only need to water my lawn once a week, as
long as I add at least one inch of water when I water my lawn. Of
course I need to water more often if the weather is hot and dry or if
I have added grass seeds. I am wondering whether I can apply the same
approach to flower garden watering.

I am asking this not only to learn the frequency of watering, but also
to determine if I need to use an automated watering system for the
flower garden. If I only need to water once a week, I can easily do
this manually without using an automated system. If I need to water as
frequent as every other day, I think I am better off using an
automated system.

(I know that I need to water plants in a flower box as frequent as
every day. But I am not asking about flower box here. I am asking
watering plants in a flower garden on real soil).

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan

"Jay Chan" wrote in message
om...
I would like to know how often that I should water my flower garden.


Here's a precise answer: It depends.

It depends on lots of individual factors, and how they interact.

What kinds of plants are you growing? Some plants droop in mid-day no matter
how much water they get, because we try and grow things in climates they're
not designed for. Others can take a beating that would kill most people.
Marigolds, zinnias and portulaca are some good examples.

What's the soil like, in terms of drainage and water retention? Are you
using a mulch? If so, what kind?

What are the microclimates like around your property? In other words, some
flowers may be in beds up against the house. At my house, there can be a 3
hour downpour and some of the beds still remain bone dry. Other beds get
rain, but much more wind than others, so they dry out faster than the beds
in other spots.

Really, the best way to determine watering needs is to observe the plants
themselves, and stick your fingers down into the soil up to your knuckles.
If it's beginning to feel dry at that depth, it's time to water. If you grab
a handful of soil from *BELOW* the surface and squeeze it into a ball, it
should stay together, but crumble as easily as cake when you break it up.

This is why gardening is an art, not a science.....it just depends. If you
have good loamy soil, use a mulch on the bed to conserve moisture, are
growing plants with reasonable water needs (not bog plants or "water hogs")
live in a moderate summer climate (not the deep south), and your plants are
established (not recently planted), then once a week is probably fine. It's
actually preferable to frequent watering, which can promote shallow roots.
If once a week is working for your grass, it will probably be sufficient for
your flowers.

If, on the other hand, you have sandy soil, don't use a mulch, and live in
a blazing hot climate with the flower bed in full sun, you will need to
water more often. You can gain a feel for what's needed in your particular
situation by checking the soil moisture a few inches down every so often,
and by observing how well your plants grow.

HTH,
Sue

Zone 6, Southcentral PA


"Jay Chan" wrote in message
om...
I would like to know how often that I should water my flower garden.

(I know that I need to water plants in a flower box as frequent as
every day. But I am not asking about flower box here. I am asking
watering plants in a flower garden on real soil).


Jay Chan

a lot depends on the area you live in. Here in the High Mojave Desert I water
deep at lest once a week with a light watering of some plants every night when
it's cooled down.


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along the path he once had followed, Man would one day go again.

Arthur C. Clarke "The City & The Stars"

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"Jay Chan" wrote in message
om...
I would like to know how often that I should water my flower garden.

My understanding is that I only need to water my lawn once a week, as
long as I add at least one inch of water when I water my lawn. Of
course I need to water more often if the weather is hot and dry or if
I have added grass seeds. I am wondering whether I can apply the same
approach to flower garden watering.

I am asking this not only to learn the frequency of watering, but also
to determine if I need to use an automated watering system for the
flower garden. If I only need to water once a week, I can easily do
this manually without using an automated system. If I need to water as
frequent as every other day, I think I am better off using an
automated system.

(I know that I need to water plants in a flower box as frequent as
every day. But I am not asking about flower box here. I am asking
watering plants in a flower garden on real soil).

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan


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I would like to know how often that I should water my flower garden.

A well planted one should require little to no watering, I don't water my
plants any more, just the initial planting.... if it doesn't make it here under
those conditions, it's not going to make it here..... I of course don't plant
in really hot weather, at this rate I will be able to plant through December
here in Connecticut.... the weather has been HORRID since January.
Colleen

(Jay Chan) wrote:

I would like to know how often that I should water my flower garden.

Where do you live? What plants are you growing? How long have
they been growing?


Tsu

--
To doubt everything or to believe everything
are two equally convenient solutions; both
dispense with the necessity of reflection.
- Jules Henri Poincaré

Thanks for all the good advices that I have received he

- Choose the plants that will do well in my area: More or less, the
plants in my garden are suitable in my area (zone-6). They all seem to
be doing fine. The only exception is the shasta daisy their leaves
seem to dip very easily under mid-day sun; but they did very well last
winter though. I guess this is a compromise that I need to make.

- Right soil type: The top soil in my garden is rich soil. But one
feet down is sandy soil. I guess this means I "may" need to water more
often - But wait...

- Put mulch: Yes, I have already put a lot of cedar mulch in the
garden. I guess, I may not need to water that often after all.

- Use my fingers to check the soil: This makes sense, and I probably
will do this once a week in spring, and twice a week in summer.

My Plan of Action:
Because I am not planning to replace the existing plants and soil,
and I have already mulched. This means the only thing that I should do
is to use my fingers to check soil periodically.

Thanks again for the useful advices.

Jay Chan

GrampysGurl wrote:


I would like to know how often that I should water my flower garden.

A well planted one should require little to no watering,

That is a pretty broad statement that will not be applicable to a large part of the
country. Unless you are into total xeriscaping (and in some areas, that makes a
good deal of sense), ALL plants need water. How much and how often will depend on
the plant, when it was planted, soil conditions, weather and a bunch of other
variables. Even drought tolerant plants need a couple of seasons of regular
irrigation before they are able to become established and develop root systems
extensive enough to support them through dry spells. And plants like roses,
clematis and a large assortment of fairly common perennials (as well as most
annuals) will need regular and frequent watering during the growing season to
perform well and not be stressed.

There are certainly ways one can reduce watering needs, but simply saying a "well
planted" flower garden shouldn't require any is inaccurate and misleading to new
posters.

pam - gardengal

Where do you live? What plants are you growing? How long have
they been growing?

I read my original message, and I realize that I forgot to mention my
zone!

I live in zone-6 in northern New Jersey. Here spring and early summer
is kind of wet. Summer can be hot and dry (probably not as hot as in
southern states though). Fall will cool down (I don't remember if fall
is wet or dry).

The plants in my garden is a mix of olds and news. Perennial are
mainly old (I have recently added some shasta daisy and bulbs though).
Annuals are all newly planted; the garden didn't have any annual
before. By and large, my garden is quite "standard".

I will follow the "stick my fingers into the soil" approach suggested
by a couple newsgroup members. That makes sense.

Thanks.

Jay Chan

(Jay Chan) wrote:

Where do you live? What plants are you growing? How long have
they been growing?

I live in zone-6 in northern New Jersey. Here spring and early summer
is kind of wet. Summer can be hot and dry (probably not as hot as in
southern states though). Fall will cool down (I don't remember if fall
is wet or dry).

Remembre that roots follow the water: for maximum heat and
drought tolerance, don't water lightly every day. Water less
often, applying enough to wet the soil to a depth of 1 foot or so
doe annuals and small perennials, and up to 3 feet for trees and
large bushes.


Tsu

--
To doubt everything or to believe everything
are two equally convenient solutions; both
dispense with the necessity of reflection.
- Jules Henri Poincaré

Remembre that roots follow the water: for maximum heat and
drought tolerance, don't water lightly every day. Water less
often, applying enough to wet ...

Watering less often is always a good idea to me. Between work and my
kid, I don't have that much time left for gardening anyway. Thanks.

Jay Chan

"Jay Chan" wrote in message
om...
Remembre that roots follow the water: for maximum heat and
drought tolerance, don't water lightly every day. Water less
often, applying enough to wet ...

Watering less often is always a good idea to me. Between work and my
kid, I don't have that much time left for gardening anyway. Thanks.

Jay Chan

Buy soaker hoses and leave them in place as much as possible. Then, all you
have to do is hook them up to the supply hose, turn on a trickle of water,
and walk away.

Buy soaker hoses and leave them in place as much as possible. Then, all you
have to do is hook them up to the supply hose, turn on a trickle of water,
and walk away.

Using a soaker hose is one of the good alternative. I was also
thinking of using a drip-irrigation system. But I just don't like to
winterize the hose that we use for drip-irrigation system. I have a
feeling that winterizing a soaker hose probably is much simpler than
that is for a drip irrigation system.

But for now, I am still using a water hose. I just like the feeling of
watering plants (that's if I have the time).

Jay Chan

"Jay Chan" wrote in message
om...
Buy soaker hoses and leave them in place as much as possible. Then, all
you
have to do is hook them up to the supply hose, turn on a trickle of
water,
and walk away.

Using a soaker hose is one of the good alternative. I was also
thinking of using a drip-irrigation system. But I just don't like to
winterize the hose that we use for drip-irrigation system. I have a
feeling that winterizing a soaker hose probably is much simpler than
that is for a drip irrigation system.


My soaker hoses live in an unattached garage all winter, at temps from 0 to
30. As long as you drain the hoses, no harm comes to them.

My soaker hoses live in an unattached garage all winter, at temps from 0 to
30. As long as you drain the hoses, no harm comes to them.

This sounds good. I like the idea of winterizing easily.

Jay Chan