Hi,
I recently planted some small evergreens (1 and 2 gallon pots). This
region is semi-arid and I'm wondering how much and how often to ter
these plants. I want to avoid overwatering.

Thanks


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_X

"chirisophus" wrote in message
rthlink.net...
Hi,
I recently planted some small evergreens (1 and 2 gallon pots). This
region is semi-arid and I'm wondering how much and how often to ter
these plants. I want to avoid overwatering.

Thanks


--
_X

The first week you need to water them a lot to avoid transplant shock.
Maybe a gallon a day for 7 days, depending on what kind of soil you have.
If you have sandy soil, then at least twice that and if clay, then perhaps
half of that. Then it's best to deep water them less frequently but with
more quantity, maybye a gallon and a half every 3 days. Do that for another
month or so and again decrease the frequency but up the quantity. Maybe 3
gallons every week. If these will always require supplemental watering in
your location, then I'd work on installing a drip emission system to
deliver the water. If they will generally survive with no supplemental
watering once established, then I'd start to once again decrease the
interval between waterings while staying at the same quantity. For small
plants like you planted, if they are suited to your climate, they'll
generally be established enough at 6 months to not need supplemental
watering except in the case of drought conditions. Larger plants will take
longer to establish, and some trees need 2-3 years of supplemental watering
before the roots have grown out enough in the naitive soil to survive
"normal" weather patterns. Again, this is presuming you are not trying to
grow weeping willows in the desert or other plants ill suited to your native
rainfall patterns.

Sunflower
MS 7b