Water Wars

Every year, our local high school seniors organize what has affectionately been named “Water Wars”. A non-school activity, it is effectively a huge water balloon and squirt gun fight, all done in the spirit of good, clean fun. That event got me thinking of “Landscape Water Wars”.

“Landscape Water Wars” is also an annual occurrence that starts around July 4^th, when Christensen’s starts receiving numerous phone calls regarding plants that have defoliated or declined. The week after the holiday tends to be when we receive the most phone calls since it’s usually one of the first, really, hot weekends. Many times, it’s also a long weekend, leaving plants to rely on new irrigation systems for the first time without much attention.

So, I thought I would take a moment to give everyone a friendly reminder to pass along to your homeowners and building managers.

New plantings need a thorough watering every two to three days for the first month or two. Moving from pot to landscaping is stressful and they need to be weaned from the scheduled watering they receive at the nursery. At Christensen's, plants are watered a minimum of twice a day. This is what plants are used to, making the weaning process very important.

Water slow enough that the water does not run off, and long enough to get the newly planted root ball wet. For the first month, the roots are only in the root ball. As a result, this is the only place where the plant will get water.
The ever-popular Hydrangea will be the first indicator of a lack of water. Hydrangeas will wilt within 24 hours of insufficient water and drop leaves within 3-4 days. Keep an eye on these to see if your landscape needs water.

After the first two months, watering may be reduced to every five to seven days, depending on the air temperature and the amount of wind we have experienced.

Over-watering can be just as problematic. Unfortunately, it presents with many of the same symptoms as under-watering. So, watering needs to be measured and monitored.

All of you, our awesome contractors, install such beautiful landscapes for your clients. It kills me to see them injured or destroyed by something so preventable.

I suggest incorporating plant care and homeowner education into every job, so your projects thrive, and your clients continue to celebrate their new landscape.