Just had a new tree put in the garden and have a couple of questions.

I reckon that it will be normal for it to shed a few leaves after planting, after a week it has some new buds/sprouts anyway.

Should we water once or twice a day if we don't have rain?

Once or twice a day watering depends on the site-specific conditions and how much water you put on each time.  Whats the drainage like?  Is the soil sandy or clayey. When you water does it drain out right away? Or does the water stand all day without moving down through the soil profile?  Keep the soil moist, but don't allow excess water to stand and create anerobic conditions for root rot.  

 

A soil moisture meter probe is a very useful tool, but assuming that you don't have one, you may need to dig down a little with your fingers or a trowel to see how wet the soil is beneath the surface. Soil surface conditions can be deceiving, because it drys out faster and doesn't reveal the moisture content at deeper levels where the roots are. 

 

Since the first week has passed now and your new tree has not defoliated and dried up, and in fact you see viable buds and new growth, its a good sign that you are not too far off on watering needs.  Now you can back off a little on keeping it super wet, get to know your soil conditions and the drainage. Deep water and then let it dry out a little before watering again. If you have very sandy soil and full sun exposure, and you think it's drying out rapidly after you water, then a layer of mulch (compost, rice straw, rice hulls or coconut fiber) will help to retain soil moisture. 

 

 

On 27/08/2017 at 9:48 PM, drtreelove said:

Once or twice a day watering depends on the site-specific conditions and how much water you put on each time.  Whats the drainage like?  Is the soil sandy or clayey. When you water does it drain out right away? Or does the water stand all day without moving down through the soil profile?  Keep the soil moist, but don't allow excess water to stand and create anerobic conditions for root rot.  

 

A soil moisture meter probe is a very useful tool, but assuming that you don't have one, you may need to dig down a little with your fingers or a trowel to see how wet the soil is beneath the surface. Soil surface conditions can be deceiving, because it drys out faster and doesn't reveal the moisture content at deeper levels where the roots are. 

 

Since the first week has passed now and your new tree has not defoliated and dried up, and in fact you see viable buds and new growth, its a good sign that you are not too far off on watering needs.  Now you can back off a little on keeping it super wet, get to know your soil conditions and the drainage. Deep water and then let it dry out a little before watering again. If you have very sandy soil and full sun exposure, and you think it's drying out rapidly after you water, then a layer of mulch (compost, rice straw, rice hulls or coconut fiber) will help to retain soil moisture. 

 

 

The watering thing has now been taken out of my hands as it has chucked it down all night for the past two nights. The soil around the tree doesn't have standing water but is staying quite damp after draining so it looks ok.

?