Cornelius Nurseries Watering

Watering is the most critical but most often misunderstood or neglected factor in the survival of newly planted material. Proper moisture levels must be maintained to ensure livability. On new plantings, one cannot expect weekly or even bi-weekly watering to be adequate, especially during our high summer temperatures and often prolonged droughts.

Newly planted material needs to be watered deeply to entice those new roots to take hold quickly. On individual trees, the best response is to turn on the water so that it barely drips from the hose. You want all the water to soak into the root ball with none of it running out into the lawn or flower beds. Leave it on for an hour or two to ensure deep penetration. When it's really hot and sunny, this should be done every other day or so.

What you are trying to prevent is the tree going into a dormant or semi-dormant state, thus stopping all new root growth. No new root growth and you've got big problems -- get the picture?! The same goes for new glower beds; set your sprinkler for proper coverage and forget it for an hour, even two. It takes this long to put out sufficient water to penetrate deeply enough to pull the roots down into the ground. "Ah ha!" You might say, "but I've got a sprinkler system that comes on every day. (Maybe even twice a day) for 8-15 minutes at a time. Obviously I don't need to go to all this trouble!" Not so -- short but frequent watering periods cause plants to be shallow rooted and less well established than they should be. Your system will be more efficient and your plants will be happier and healthier if you reset your timer for fewer but longer sessions. You can tell you've got the timing right when you can dig a hole about six inches or so deep and itÕs still moist at the bottom.

Helpful Hint #1
For your new landscape -- keep it fed! While those plants were at the growing farm they were being fed quite often to keep them in as constant a state of growth as possible. If you slow down or forget to feed them, growth will slow down, sometimes quite dramatically. All systems of feeding, whether liquid or spikes, will work as long as you donÕt forget to apply them at the recommended rates and intervals. So pick the application you prefer and go for it.

Remember, a certain amount of yellowing foliage, leaf drop or leaf burn and even small twig dieback is to be expected. DonÕt panic -- check to be sure the root ball is staying moist enough. Dry conditions more often than not, are the culprit. (Herbicides (weed killers) used too close to new plants could also be the problem as they will produce the same symptoms.)

Helpful Hint #2
Shearing new shrubbery periodically encourages them to be bushier faster. Leaving plants unsheared allows them to attain height faster, but they won't be as dense this way. A similar condition applies to trees -- leaving the lower branches on for the first few years makes for a stronger, thicker trunk but slower upward growth. Removing the lower limbs at planting allows for faster upward growth but smaller, weaker trunk growth. For obvious reasons, the first method is preferred.

We hope these hints will help prevent any undue stress, both to your new landscape and to you, itÕs caretaker. Don't forget, if you're having a problem, we're here seven days a week to help. Give us a call!