Use our Central Texas plant watering instructions to help ensure success for your new plants, shrubs, sod, or trees. Transplanting is stressful for any plant, and correct watering will help ensure success for your new landscaping.
When it comes to watering your plants, remember that every yard has a unique microclimate. Sun exposure, soil condition, wind, soil slope, weather, and many other factors can change the amount of water needed to establish new plants. You will need to adjust our recommendations to fit your yard. Generally, the harsher the conditions, the more water is needed. Conversely, a sheltered location with mild weather would require less water.
We strongly encourage you to have one of our irrigation teams review your system concerning your new plants, sod, or trees. Often, simple changes can make a major difference in the likelihood of survival. Remember, there are no warranties with plants, sod, or trees - there are too many variables for us to guarantee their success in your yard. Reach out to our office; they can help you review your options.
New Plant Watering Instructions (Shrubs or Flowers)
New plants need extra water after they are planted. All plants suffer from transplant stress. Larger plants take longer to recover from transplanting. Adding extra water helps the plants recover and become established in your yard.
- Water all new plants daily for at least two weeks. After two weeks, reduce the water to every other day for a week, and then down to twice a week for another two weeks.
- Keep an eye on the plants and add extra water to any plant that looks like it is struggling. Check the soil at the base of the plant to make sure it is not already saturated. Use a hose with low pressure to saturate the soil at the base of the plant. Allow the soil to dry out between hand watering.
- It is normal for most plants to start looking worse a few days after they are planted. If watered correctly, they should recover from that initial stress in 2-3 weeks.
New Sod Watering Instructions
New sod needs to be watered enough to keep the grass and soil saturated and muddy for several weeks. Watering is crucial to ensure success for your new grass.
- Typically, a new lawn needs to be watered daily, multiple times per day for 3-4 weeks. After 3 weeks, gradually reduce the water to maintenance levels. Start by dropping the water to every other day for 1-2 weeks, and then to 2 times a week for another 1-2 weeks.
- Check the lawn's progress by gently lifting a corner of sod. New sod should lift up easily, but after 3 weeks the roots should make moving the sod difficult. As the roots grow in deeper and thicker, water can be reduced. Maintenance level watering should be 1-2 times a week for Bermuda and Zoysia, and 2-4 times a week for St. Augustine. Under drought restrictions, St. Augustine may need supplemental hand watering to keep it healthy.
- Do not be alarmed if the grass starts to yellow. New sod will go through a period of stress after installation, even with proper watering. The grass should recover from the stress quickly, and green up within a few days.
New Tree Watering Instructions
Trees require additional hand watering after being planted. They usually suffer transplant stress and need time to adapt to their new location. The extra water helps the trees through this process. The larger the tree, the longer this period of stress lasts. Large trees can suffer stress for up to several years, though most trees can be established in 6-12 months.
- Water new trees daily for 2-3 weeks. The easiest method is to leave a hose at the base of the tree with the water barely turned on for 5-10 minutes. This allows the water to slowly be absorbed by the soil at the base of the tree. Stop watering when the soil is saturated and starting to run off into the yard. Repeat daily for 2-3 weeks. Following that, water every other day for another 2 weeks, and then weekly for another month.
- After the first 2-3 weeks, the soil should dry out between watering. Check the soil before watering, and if the soil is still wet, wait another day before watering again. After the tree becomes established, it may be watered with the rest of the yard, but it would still benefit from a deep hand watering from time to time.
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