Watering schedule - newly installed garden

Hydrangeas like shade, typically only morning sun depending on the variety you have. I’ll usually water new plant everyday for 2 weeks depending on rain. It’s been dry here in Hou

I’m probably a broken record here but planting in the summer means mulch and lots of it. Go get some shredded bark (get what you think you need, them double it), water the whole bed deeply, then spread it out thick and water again

you should be good to go then to water every couple of days. Once the fall arrives you can probably never water again as long as there’s rain

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I’m probably a broken record here but planting in the summer means mulch and lots of it.

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You are correct - and it can’t be stated often enough - so keep being a broken record when it comes to emphasizing mulching. I often don’t say enough about it, but I’m pretty diligent about mulching and continually replenishing mulch in landscape beds. I’d rather mulch a couple times a year than water all the time during dry periods, not to mention the other benefits of mulching.

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Crow Pie

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Good job - that looks great. If your plant material has been in the ground for a month, I probably would not be watering more than a couple times per week. I would water longer and less frequently to establish a deep root system. It looks like you’ve raised your beds nicely and excess water will run off.

I target at least at least 1 inch of water per week - I monitor rain at the house, and if I receive less than an 1 inch of water from rain I run my micro-irrigation system to provide at least an inch. Each new rainfall event of 1 inch + resets the clock to run my micro-irrigation system. The 1 inch per week is based on university recommendations.

A few years ago when I started renovating my beds and I installed a micro-irrigation, on a timer system, that I ran daily. After a few months I lost several azaleas. When I dug them up, I could see they died of root rot and the planting holes were saturated with water. Replanted, changed my water strategy to no than twice a week in the absence of rain, and all is well. Now I just use the timers to set the length of watering, and manually turn them on based on rainfall events. I don’t use the micro-irrigation system from Nov-Feb.

West side can receive a little more water if you feel it necessary. Occasionally stick your finger into the bed and if it’s moist, like a wrung-out sponge to the depth of your knuckle, that should be sufficient moisture.