How often to water?

I've probably been doing a bad thing. We did a LOT of outside sprucing up and repair at once and I think I'm blending care of one thing to everything else.

Last year I planted salvia in front of the house. Honestly, I don't remember having watered it at all last year and it was fine.
This year in between the salvia, we planted cistena plum. I thought newly transplanted shrubs needed a lot of water at first. (is this right, and for how long?)

At around the same time we planted a vegetable garden with tomatoes, strawberries, cucumber, zucchini, onions, bell peppers and jalapenos. Again I was under the impression new transplanted plants needed a lot of water at first.

Last week we reseeded the bare spots of our lawn. The care package DOES say to water this daily until the sprouts are two inches tall.

To sum this all up I've been watering the whole mess daily since everything was planted/seeded. I know the grass seeds need it daily, but what about everything else? Have I been overdoing it? How much water do established plants need?

One of the best tips to remember in gardening is to position plants with similar water needs together, and avoid mixing. In Texas, we experience terrible droughts and spend a lot of time researching and planting drought-tolerant plants - many varieties of salvia are in that classification. You probably didn't have to water your salvias last year if they were one of those low-water varieties. Placing these types of plants with others that require lots of water can actually "drown" the low-water variety over time.

Most new shrubs and perennials need more water until their roots are established - that varies with the type of plant, but the first year is a good rule of thumb. With all plants under all circumstances, it's best to water deeply and less often than it is to water frequently for a short period of time. That encourages deep root development. Don't guess - water a bare patch of ground in your garden areas for the amount of time you think is sufficient, then dig down six inches or more and see if the soil at that depth is moist. If not, you're not watering deeply and the plants will not do well. The type of soil of have and the amount of rain you've received recently will always effect your watering needs, so adjust accordingly from week to week.

Reseeded lawns, or any plant growing from seed, needs to be kept consistently moist until the seeds are germinated and grown, so you may need to water those areas less deeply but as often as twice a day until grown out.

Vegetable gardens always need a good supply of water during the growing season and probably should be on a separate irrigation system from other plants in your garden. Again, the amount of rain you get determines the amount of watering you'll need to do - check the soil a couple of inches down and watch the plants - they'll let you know!

In a nutshell:

1) Plant low-water needs plants in one area and water-loving plants in another - don't mix the two.
2) Try to avoid constantly adding new plants to an established garden area since they require more water than the others until established.
3) As a rule of thumb, allow new shrubs and perennials one year to get established in your garden.
4) Always water deeply and thoroughly, and you'll be able to water less as plants grow and mature.
5) Newly seeded lawns are a totally different issue - frequent shallow watering, often more than once daily, is required. Never let those areas dry out.
6) For established plants, you might consider micro-drip systems or soaker hoses, or other means of delivering adequate water gauged to the plants' needs without wasting that resource.

Good luck with your garden - it sounds like you've got a good one underway.

Great advice Mocatmom.

I love my Gardenia plants so much I think I'm loving them to death by over-watering them. Help me please. The leaves are turning black around the edges and falling off. Live in Las Vegas Nv. area.

Things turning black does often mean too much water--gardenias don't like to dry out too much but they can definitely be overwatered. I would try the finger test--stick your finger down an inch or two into the soil and see how it feels-if it's super wet, then you've probably been watering too much. If it is really wet, you may consider repotting it in some drier soil. Trim off any mushy/slimy roots when you repot, and cut back a bit on your watering going forward.

Your climate is going to be a bit challenging for gardenias though--I find them to be a bit fussy here and your summers are a lot hotter and drier than mine.