Not quite a small plant but not quite a tree, the shrub is a woody plant with stems rising from the ground. Shrubs are excellent at decorating the yard, can be trimmed and landscaped to look like pretty much anything, and make for an amazing privacy fence when needed. They are dense and usually no taller than 10 feet.
Watering shrubs is pretty easy but keep in mind there are many different varieties and each could have very particular watering needs. As a general rule for the frequency of watering, you want to check the topsoil. If the top four inches are dry, it’s time to give your shrub a good watering.
How to Tell if Shrubs Need Water?
If you want to know when to water your shrubs, just check the soil around them. You can use a long screw or even a garden trowel for this process. Drive the tool into the ground, close to the root of the plants. If the tool can’t penetrate the first three to four inches of the soil, it’s time to add water.
How Do You Know When Your Shrubs Are Sufficiently Watered?
You know the shrubs are sufficiently watered once you understand a few basics about how to properly water shrubs. Shrubs that have an established root system usually require one deep watering per week but only if it hasn’t rained in the past 7 days.
When watering the shrubs, you can use a garden hose with a timer for more accuracy. A soaker hose also works. The idea is to feed water to the root of the shrub for about 10 minutes straight to water them deeply.
Can You Overwater Shrubs?
You can water pretty much any plant if you exceed the quantity of water it needs. In the end, it’s mostly a matter of what overwatering means for each plant in particular.
What Are Signs of Overwatered Shrubs?
One of the best methods to tell if you’ve overwatered your shrubs is to check the soil surrounding them. If the dirt is soaked with water, then you’ve added too much water. Also be on the lookout for droopy or wilted leaves, which could indicate the first signs of root rot.
How Long Can Shrubs Go Without Water?
Shrubs are pretty drought tolerant because they have deep roots that can search for moisture farther into the ground. In arid locations, native shrubs are known for surviving for long periods without any rain.
Why are Shrubs Turning Brown/Yellow?
There are plenty of reasons why your shrubs might be turning brown. High cold can cause shrubs to lose their green color and develop a brown cast, while extreme heat can cause shrub leaves to become dull and dry.
Warm winter temperatures encourage the development of new growth in shrubs but should sudden temperature drops occur, this development comes to a grinding halt. When the ground is frozen, shrubs are not able to soak the water they need, so they turn from green to brown.
Browning shrubs could also be a consequence of insect disease, such as boxwood blight. It could also be a cause of overwatering or underwatering.
Do Shrubs Need Fertilizer?
Plants that grow in natural surroundings don’t need fertilizer because they get what they need from organic materials, such as decomposing leaves. However, shrubs that grow in an urban landscape have different growth surroundings which means the soil might not have all the nutrients they need.
Shrubs that make fruit (such as blueberries) might need fertilizer because of the nutrients they require to grow fruit. In other scenarios, fertilizers can be applied to encourage flower or leaf growth.
Visual inspection of your shrubs, as well as soil testing, will help you establish whether or not they need fertilizer. Take note of any indicators of poor growth, such as poor coloration of the leaves, lower than normal leaf size, earlier than typical fall coloring, or even twigs and branches dying. Keep in mind that it’s not always soiled poor in nutrients that could be causing all this.
Will Shrubs Survive in the Winter?
Shrubs are considered to be winter-hardy plants, which means they are very likely to survive the winter. But, not all shrubs are alike, and not winter-hardy plants have the same level of resistance in the face of frost.
If you’re interested in having shrubs that can decorate your winter garden, consider Red Twig Dogwood, Firethorn, Fringe Flower, and Camellia.
Will Shrubs Survive in Direct Sunlight?
That depends on the shrub. It’s true that no shrub truly needs 12 hours of sunlight exposure, even those who are labeled as full sun enjoyers. The shrubs that do thrive in the full sun won’t need more than six hours per day, with some protection if we’re talking harsh summer afternoons.
If you’re interested in some flowering shrubs that can survive direct sunlight (remember, not 12h per day), you can consider Crape Myrtle, Spirea, and the Butterfly Bush.
Should I Water my Shrubs every day?
It mostly depends on where your shrubs are in their growth stage. When you first plant shrubs, you want to water them immediately. Allow the soil to soak and water them again even when the soil is still moist.
Water them once a day or once every two days in the first week. Starting with the second week, you can reduce the watering frequency to two maybe three times per week.
For the second and third years of shrub growth, you can water them deeply once a week. After their third year, shrubs become more drought tolerant.
Final Thoughts
Watering your shrubs means knowing what type of shrubs you’re dealing with first. For the most part, you have to check your shrub’s soil to determine when the right time for watering is.
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Jamie is the founder of The Backyard Pros. When he was 15 years old he started working at a garden centre helping people buy plants, gardening products, and lawn care products. He has real estate experience and he is a home owner. Jamie loves backyard projects, refinishing furniture, and enjoys sharing his knowledge online.