Many customers come in to the Garden Center to find out what is wrong with their plant. More often than not the plant is suffering from a lack of water. The response is always "But I water it ALL the time". The problem is that they are watering incorrectly. Many people hand water, and while it feels like a lot of water is being given to the plant (probably because as much as 400 gallons per hour can come out of a garden hose), in reality most of the water is being wasted. Hand watering delivers water at such a high rate that only the surface of the soil is reached and the majority of the water rushing out of the hose is lost to evaporation or runoff. The water that does penetrate the soil only reaches a depth of an inch or two; not nearly deep enough for the entire root system.

 

The best way to water in our climate is with Drip Irrigation. You can also create the same effect with your hose by only allowing a very small amount of water out of the hose at the root system for a longer period of time.  Doing this will not only ensure that you penetrate the entire root system but will also train the roots to grow deeply. Hand watering, on the other hand, teaches the roots to stay at the surface of the soil (because that is where the water is); thus causing the roots to dry out more quickly because they are closer to the sun.