Watering Tips

Watering outdoor plants is an art and a science. These tips should help you get professional results.

Hose Management

A hose that never crosses itself will never kink! As you pull the hose around as you water, pay attention to your path and plan ahead to avoid crossing the hose. It's not hard to do if you think about it. I start at the hose bib, and after turning on the water, take the end of the hose in one direction to the full extent of travel, then go back to the hose bib and continue in that direction to the full extent of travel in the other direction. When done, the hose will form a U shape in the direction last traveled. To repeat the motion the next day, start in the first-traveled direction again. Never coil a hose. A coiled hose will always develop kinks! Just let the hose lay on the ground in a large U shape.

What to Wear

When I water I wear zoris (slippers, flip flops) and shorts because I know I will get my feet an legs wet. If you wear shoes and long pants, they will get wet (if you water well), so dress casually!

Pot Size Matters

The volume of a pot generally varies as the cube of its size. A pot twice as big will hold eight times as much moist potting soil. Therefore, pay particular attention to the smaller pots as they can dry out much more quickly.

Water Twice

When you apply water to a potted plant, the water must soak in and get the roots wet throughout the pot. This usually means that for a dry plant you have to water twice. This is not such a burden as you have to pass by the plant twice anyway as you water starting from the hose bib out and back, and then again in the other direction. Make use of this motion to water each plant twice: the first to get the top of the potting soil wet, and the second to soak in.

Use a Gentle Stream

Do not try to rush the watering job. You need to use the hose water in a way that simulates rain, with a gentle arc of water so the soil does not wash out of the pots. Do not be afraid to overwater. All the pots have good drainage so don't worry about getting them too wet.

Special Care Plants

You will need to pay special attention to some plants.

Pots Under Eaves

There are some pots under eaves that will never get any rain, so they must be watered regardless of how much it rains. There are two large pots under the eaves in the front, two outside the kitchen window, and four at the back of the house.

Hanging Plants

There is a hanging tomato plant under the eaves outside the kitchen window. It gets half a jar of water a day. There are two hanging baskets of orchids in the lychee tree that need daily watering. The hina hina in the macadamia and plumeria trees needs daily watering. There are other orchids, some in pots, that also need daily watering (except after heavy rain).

Bonsai

There are benches of bonsai in four places. They need daily watering, and with bonsai, it's particularly important to water twice as they typically have soil mounded above the pot rim and get only what soaks in from sprinkling on the top surface.

In Case of Drought

It will probably rain from time to time so the plants in the ground should do alright without watering, but in case it doesn't rain for three or more days (a tenth of an inch or more), then you will need to water the trees and shrubs in the ground.

Email Richard dot J dot Wagner at gmail dot com