Watering plants is important when hot temperatures persist. It is that time of year again when we will start seeing temperatures in the mid to upper 90’s across eastern Iowa. Hot temperatures coupled with drastically lower than average rain fall will increase the need for watering plants in your lawn and landscape. Plants that are newly installed will generally have a shallow root system which stops them from reaching deep moisture. Since prolonged heat and lack of moisture will persist for the foreseeable future, it may be necessary to start watering plants in your lawn.
We recommend watering plants such as annuals on a daily during periods of high heat and absent rain. Once wilting sets into most annuals, they are never going to reach their full potential again. Since annual plants only last one season, it is important to nurture the plants constantly throughout the growing year. Make sure that you constantly keep the soil moist to promote plant establishment. We usually recommend adding fertilizer at least three times a year to annual planters to help promote flowering.
Start watering plants today.
If you have installed new perennials, shrubs or trees since spring, it is important to water them consistently though the end of the growing season. The frequency of watering depends on the type of plant, soil conditions, temperature and rainfall. Most perennials will need to be watered daily for the first couple of weeks. Generally most perennials will require watering at least a couple of times a week for all subsequent weeks. Shrubs will follow similar watering practices as perennials, depending on what species is planted. It is important to water longer and deep instead of frequent and short. Irrigation systems will not produce enough water to satisfactorily meet the plants watering requirements. Newly planted trees should receive at least twenty gallons of water every day for the first week. Watering in subsequent weeks should be around two to three days with at least ten to twenty gallons of water per watering.