First-Year Watering Schedule
Month-by-month for new installs.
Year-one watering is not about keeping plants alive. It's about teaching roots to go down. The schedule that follows is for plants installed between March and June; fall installs follow a shorter version.
The principle: deep, infrequent water beats shallow, frequent water every time. Each soaking should drive water 8 to 12 inches into the soil, then let the top inch dry before the next round. This trains roots downward, where they belong.
March–April: For new installs, water every five to seven days unless there is more than half an inch of rain in the week. Deep soak — fifteen minutes on drip, or three to five gallons per plant by hand.
May–June: Shift to every four to five days as temperatures rise. Watch the plants in the late afternoon — slight wilting that recovers overnight is normal; wilting that persists through the morning means water now.
July–August: This is the survival window. Most plants want water every three to four days; new trees want a deep soak every five days. Mulch becomes the difference between a stressed plant and a thriving one.
September: Begin tapering. Every five to seven days, then every seven to ten as nights cool.
October onward: stop supplemental watering. Fall rains do the work. The exception is broadleaf evergreens in a dry fall — a deep soak before the first hard freeze prevents winter damage.