The Secret Behind Watering – How Much is Too Much?
Throughout our 30+ years providing landscaping services in Naperville and the surrounding areas, we have seen one common culprit when it comes to issues with plants, trees, and shrubs. While bunnies, squirrels, and other wildlife can be particularly destructive, the single biggest obstacle to a flourishing garden is water.
Water is a sticky wicket in the landscaping business. All living things need water to survive, but there is a broad spectrum of just how much water is the ideal amount. What’s more, not only do you need to give plants adequate water to nourish them, but you have to be careful not to give them too much. Overwatering is almost more damaging than underwatering in some situations. How do you know how much is enough and how much is too much?
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Work with Your Outdoor Space, Not Against It
When developing a landscape design, water flow is one of the most important considerations. With the amount of precipitation we get in the Midwest, drainage paths exist on most properties – the route that water flows away from your house to prevent a leaky basement or foundation shifting. As much as we joke about how flat Illinois is, many properties also have changes in elevation that naturally create low-lying areas of their lawns or gardens.
If you have drainage paths or low-lying spots, it is important to avoid placing a plant, shrub, or tree that does not like standing water in one of those spaces. Work with the obstacles of your lot, and consider installing water-loving river birches, dogwoods, or witch-hazels in those areas.
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Weed Barriers Do More Harm Than Good
If you are digging a brand-new garden, you may be considering laying weed barrier. Not familiar with it? It’s fabric that is placed at the base of a garden with the goal of preventing weeds from deeply rooting, supposedly making them easier to remove. Anecdotally, many people who have weed barriers in their gardens end up frustrated, as the roots of fast-growing and quickly spreading weeds such as ground ivy and clover love to cling to the cloth, making them even harder to eradicate.
For plants, weed barrier is also problematic. It tends to prevent plants from getting the adequate amount of water, as it repels rainwater or hand watering. If you inherited a garden with weed barrier and want to install plants, don’t worry – it is relatively easy to slice through with a pointed shovel or trowel. Before you plant, make sure to create a hole at least double the size of the root ball, removing the weed barrier as you go. Don’t forget to mix in quality topsoil with the existing soil to give your new plant the nutrients it needs.
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Water the Old-Fashioned Way – By Hand
Planning a landscape overhaul this spring? Leave automatic sprinklers out of the design. While they may seem convenient, they are not ideal in residential landscape design. Flower beds are particularly susceptible to overwatering with automatic sprinklers because flowering plants’ water needs vary. Plus, automatic sprinklers are expensive to install and increase your water bill far more than watering by hand.
While your new plants are being established in the garden, use your hose with a nozzle set to the shower setting to water once or twice daily until the soil around your plant is very wet. After a couple of weeks, the roots will have taken hold and you can reduce watering, based upon the amount of rain. Make sure to water once a day if it’s a dry spell, but the same rule of thumb applies – water just until soil is very wet. Since soil cannot store water, overwatering will only damage your plants versus saving you time.
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Short on Time to Water? Choose Drought Tolerant Plants
Having a beautiful garden doesn’t mean you have to spend hours outside watering. Your lifestyle dictates your outdoor space, not the other way around! Select drought tolerant plants such as coneflowers, little quick fire hydrangeas, black-eyed susans, or stonecrop. Make sure you pay attention to how much sun you have, too, and choose plants that will thrive in your particular garden environment. With a little bit of planning, you can create a garden that works with your schedule.
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We know firsthand how frustrating it can be to put the time and effort into creating a beautiful garden only to have it not thrive. Do your research, work with your property’s challenges, and follow our watering tips for successful gardens, and you’ll be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor for years to come.