New landscape project questions

We just installed a complete overhaul of our home(1st time homeowners) and new to this climate....upstate SC. We followed the directions of our local nursery for planting, but a bit concerned about watering.

The forecast is for 80+ degrees and zero rain through the weekend. How often should we be watering, what time of day, how much water, etc...don't want to be stuck with a bunch of dead plants in a few weeks.

We planted the following...ruby lorop., soft touch holly, laurels, garnedias, sasanquas, numerous perennials, kousa dogwood, crape myrtle, japanese maple, spreading yew.

Thanks in advance.

Picture of the back yard..receives afternoon sun

Typically new plants need to be checked on and watered well. How long ago did you plant them? What kind of drainage do they have? (If you set up a sprinkler or it rains hard does the water ever start to pool around them?) If the drainage is good and the sky isn't raining I say water them. Always best to water in the morning or the evening so the majority of the water is going into the ground and not evaporating off in the heat. Maybe one minute of the shower hose per plant? 80 degrees F isn't extreme heat in my opinion, but I live near the face of the sun. ;) Above all, if they look wilty and floppy, water them. I check on my plants frequently during the hottest part of the day and the times when they're receiving the most sun so I can see how they're reacting. Your mulch looks very adequate so they should conserve a fair amount of moisture.

Edited to say that as far as I know, new tree transplants should be watered frequently up to the first year.

This message was edited May 23, 2007 4:42 AM

We planted everything last weekend...tilled up existing soil and dropped fresh topsoil(about 3-4" thick on top of tilled soil). Drainage appears to be extremely good. There is no visible pooling around any of the plants when we water.

We have had trouble in the past due to poor drainage from when the house was built 2.5 yrs ago.

When I mentioned 80+, it concerned me yesterday that some of the plants looked droopy and wilted as you said(mostly the laurels) after being watered the previous morning. It was the first relatively hot day with no cloud cover....we should get some rain this afternoon, but the entire weekend looks to be hot and dry.

Thanks for the response.

I don't know that one minute of shower hose per plant is enough unless they are small plants. Our days are in the 80s now and nights in the 60s. We put out mostly small fruit trees this year and we water about every three days and I mean we water deeply. I spent three hours this morning watering my recent landscape venture (approximately 100 feet by 12 feet). As long as you have good drainage, too much water is difficult. The best test is to go to a spot where you won't disturb the roots of the new plants and dig down a bit with your fingers. If the earth is damp down about 6 inches or so, great. If not, water. Having said that, please realize that I live where the "dirt" is almost pure sand and it hasn't rained here for a month. Well, technically that isn't true; we did get a light sprinkle yesterday afternoon that lasted 6 minutes. Good luck.

Hi Scgolfer what you have planted is heavy going for them at transplant time, IF I am planting tree's, shrubs and perennials and the weather is even just warm, I always give them (While still in pots) a good soaking, if poss in an old basin or other thing that holds water and leave them in that till the compost has soaked up enough water to to make it really damp and wet (you will see the compost in the pot change colour and finger test will tell you the pot soil is wet enough, these plants have been sitting in pots for a couple of years, and in your case, fairly hot weather before you wanted to plant them, doing this helps the roots retain some water till they get planted and it also gives them a little reserve. I always tease out some of the roots at planting time IF they look like they are growing round in a circle the shape of the pot, it helps any new roots to spread out better and quicker.
Now that you have already planted your plants and you said you have no problems with grainage NOW, this tells me that because you have broken up your soil, then it is free draining right now, therefore give them a LONG drink late evening, as stated before, when you have hot weather, you need the water to penetrate right down to the roots, if you have a mulch, you need to get water through that also, when the heat builds up in the day, for newly planted plants, they are dealing with evaporation both to roots and leaves all at the same time, you will never over water in these conditions, but under watering may be your most likely problem at transplant time. I am not too sure what type of top soil you have used, if it is ordinery earth, then I would dig in as much compost as you can as this helps retain moisture longer than ordinery soil, at the same time mix into this compost some fish blood and bone meal, to give the plants a feed as they have been in pots a good while to reach sale condition, ( you can buy this feed already mixed in equal parts) from DIY or nurseries, it will tell you the right amount to use for shrubs and perennials, you wont over feed I dont think with this as, there are no chemicals in it to burn roots, keep off the leaves though. hope this helps you to get some control of the watering. good luck, hope you enjoy all your effort.
WeeNel.

Thanks for all of the help...this forum is extremely helpful and informative.

We did use mushroom compost and have been watering nearly every 24 hours. It seems like the trees need the most water as some of the leaves have wilted slightly late in the afternoon. Last night I applied more water than normal, so hopefully that helps.

scgolfer,
Being located in SC, like me, you probably have fireants. Be watchful for them. Hubby and I finished building our house about 2 1/2 years ago and I've been landscaping the 5 acres we left as yard. The fireants love that amended soil and the extra moisture you provide during very dry spells. I've lost numerous trees, shrubs and flowers to them. They come in and nest right around the roots of the plant. If it's real dry, they don't necessarily mound where you can see them so take a good stick and poke well around the base of your plants and wait several seconds to see if any come up out of the ground. Believe me, the extra time spent is worth it. I also have Chinese fringes and ended up replacing several of them due to fireants (I hate the worthless little beggers!). BTW, your yard is really pretty--nice job landscaping.