Plant Gardening: How to Water Your Plants
The ingredients required for healthy plants includde sunlight, soil, and a steady supply of water. When it comes to watering, the general rule is that the soil needs to be kept lightly moist to prevent it from drying out. Most plants and lawn grasses require an inch of water a week. However, some plants require more water than others. It is advised that you plant plants with similar water needs together. Plants that require singificant watering include Louisiana and Japanese irises, foamflowers, marsh marigolds, Solomon's seal, sweet flag, horsetails, swamp hibiscus, cardinal flower, hostas, mosses, and ferms. Keep these plants in the wetter areas of your garden or near your garden hose.
Tips:
- Water your plants in the cool of the morning when the wind is calm, and water loss through evaporation is minimal.
- Plants in hot weather, or compacted closely together, may require more than 1 inch of water a week; whereas plants in cold weather may require less.
- Young plants require more moisture, and lighter watering, to help get their budding roots started; whereas mature plants require less water and can withstand heavier watering.
- Sprinklers often apply water unevenly. Set gauges around the garden to determine what the moisture levels are around your garden.
- Soaker hoses can be attached to a spigot to distribute water droplets more efficiently than sprinklers.
Help Conserve Water!
Each North American consumes an average of 350 liters of water inside the home each day. Water use often increases up to 50% in the summertime, due to lawn and garden washing, and car washing. There are parts of the world that do not have any drinking water, yet much of our drinking water is wasted on plants and cars. Plants and cars do not actually require treated drinking water – it does not do them any benefit. Drinking water is also wasted when lawn sprinkler systems are forgotten, or when plants have to be overwatered because they are not suitable for the local conditions.
It's up to us, the individual, to help. By conserving valuable drinking water, we can be part of the solution, instead of being part of the problem. Water conservatoin is easy. Just follow the 3 R's of water conservation:
- Reduce your water consumption by following water-saving tips.
- Replant your garden with water-wise plants (instead of exotics).
- Re-use rainwater to water your garden by investing in rain barrels. Don't waste valuable drinking water on your garden.
- Invest in water-efficient lawn sprinklers.