Beginner Gardening: First planting of an Eldarica Pine Tree, 1 by Dutchman09

Dutchman09 wrote:
I live southwest of Tucson, Az. and just planted a 5 foot Afghan (Eldarica) Pine Tree. The hole is twice the size of the root ball all around. I loosened the soil all around the inside of the hole. I loosened some surface soil from the root ball with a strong stream of water from a hose after taking it out of the 10 gallon plastic pot. I back filled with a mixture of 1/3 Cactus soil, 1/3 Potting soil and 1/3 of the excavated soil. I am deep soaking the roots by slowly letting the water cover the bottom of the 4 foot wide Moat for about two hours every other day instead of using a soaker hose. I think this soaking is more beneficial to the roots.

My question is for how many days should I deep soak the roots since it is acclimated to the desert environment and is it necessary to fertilize once in the spring and once in the fall?