"The Bottom Line
 Wet foliage is not susceptible to sunburn
 Analyze site conditions to ensure optimal root and shoot health and prevent drought problems
 Any time plants exhibit drought stress symptoms is the time to water them
 Optimal watering time is in the early morning; watering during the day increases evaporative losses,
and evening watering regimes can encourage establishment of some fungal pathogens
 Do not overuse fertilizers and pesticides, especially those containing sodium or chloride salts
 If using recycled or gray water, consider running the water through a filtering system before applying it
to plants"

Here is a link that might be useful: The Myth of Hot-Weather Watering

why do ESTABLISHED shrubs need water????

i have seen them on abandoned heritage farm sites.. at least 100 years old ....

and i bet no one has watered them for 50 years ...

my whole point of planting shrubs.. is that they are TOTALLY care free ...

why are yours becoming more dependent than a babe in diapers... lol ..

ken

ps: i seem to recall a bunch of green lawn in your landscape... any shrub within 10 feet of that green lawn.. gets everything it needs.. and doesnt need you out there.. helping????

Depends what shrubs and perenials we're talking about.

I'm not planting the stuff you see on abandoned heritage farm sites...I know what your saying though, native viburnums and lilacs they'll be fine.

When I said established I meant I'm out of the initial 1-2 year period. Everything I have is 3-4 years old in the ground...once I see cracks developing in the soil I water. Some take priority over others, for example an Andorra Juniper, I don't know if I'll even water it but I sure as heck am going to water my clethra when its foilage is becoming limp...you know?

Problem is I have no shade with the exception of my house providing shade on the north side...my trees have a ways to go.

well .... if you are going to add facts.. and then argue against my answer .. whats the point.. lol ...

i guess if they are going limp .. they need water .... but then i might not call them 'established' ....

shall we presume they are all heavily and properly mulched???

and for sure.. you got me with clay soil.. i would be more likely to know how to water on mars.. than work clay ... i will defer to others..

have a great holiday ...

ken

Yeah I definitely misused the word established...honestly I don't personal care experience with an established plant, for all I know it may only be a matter mulching and pruning if necessary.

All I have to say is I am jealous of the rains you got in May. I officially got 1.5"...not terrible but we set many records in May...just under 90 multiple days. If was hotter hear than in when I went to Vegas for cripses sake!

bboy I read that article and I remember many folks saying don't water with the sun as it burns the leaf tissue. From what I can tell the source is fairly credible (author of article).

Overhead watering is far less efficient than watering directly at the root zone, as with a soaker hose or drip irrigation -- regardless of the time of day, you do lose water to evaporation and air drift/runoff and the canopy or spread of the trees/shrubs can block water reaching the root zone effectively. And some plant diseases are just encouraged by overhead watering like shothole fungus and cercospora leaf spot and therefore should be avoided if at all possible. I'd always opt for low emission, root zone watering before overhead irrigation from an inground system or sprinkler.

Established shrubs and trees DO need water, especially if rainfall has been missing or droughty conditions exist. And droughts are relatively common in various parts of this country, especially summer droughts. Drought stress can be a primary cause of plant failure, even with established plants, and will certainly put the plant at risk for secondary problems. Just because a plant has been growing for years in an abandoned situation doesn't mean it is growing at its optimum, which I think most of us gardeners prefer. And not all trees and shrubs share the same degree of drought tolerance. Some require more moisture than others and not providing it when required is just silly and puts the plant unnecessarily at risk. How many folks in Georgia lost plants - and some very well established plants - when they experienced their severe drought a few years back and watering was restricted/banned?

I'd take Ken's advice with a grain of salt :-) He seems to think you can just plant anything and never deal with it again with regards to fertilizing or watering, which is a rather broad generalization that may or may not work depending on a whole slew of other variables. Just teasing, Ken......I know how you love to oversimplify :-)

I plan on using a wand in this case...my whole issue is an providing even distribution of the water. The times I did water overhead, the foilage seems to distribute the water more evening under the canopy and at the drip line.

Where as if I water direct at the root zone I have to move about the shrub, weaving in and out and around other shrubs.

I'm thinking about weaving a soaker hose around the shrubs and trees within the beds to help with the watering situation...but not sure if it is worth the expense and effort as I only need to watch watering June - August and then a deep soak in fall if necessary.

One word I'll add about overhead watering is the affect that "hard" water and minerals/additives can have on the foliage of certain trees/shrubs. Just something to watch for.

Seven-Son Flower and Red Twig Dogwoods can be especially sensitive to this.

Best of luck!

I have a shrub border that backs up to woods of oaks, pines and miscellany. I overhead water to be sure to distribute evenly so the greedy woods trees don't jump into any one root zone. Same with very occasional fertilizer (Hollytone).

I am hoping the big greedy trees will take what they need and maybe leave some for the newbies.

The most effective way that I have found to water larger plants (trees and shrubs) is to set the hose on very low pressure, take off the watering wand, and set the dripping hose under the plant. Leave it there for a while then move it to the next plant. The slow drip will allow the water to move through the soil and get the soil thoroughly wet. Then don't do this again for at least another week or two. For a big tree I'd leave the hose for at least a half hour.

Wouldn't you have to do that around the full perimeter?

I thought I read somewhere not to do that as it doesn't offer an even distribution.

Unless soil surface is significantly compacted and a puddle forms, spreads over the soil before soaking in a drip will form a narrow and deep, sort of carrot-shaped moistened area of minimal effectiveness.

The most suitable manual irrigation system for home situations is still the oscillating sprinkler. Water in the morning to avoid encouraging fungi and slugs. Do it often enough and long enough to do the job. After it has had some time to finish soaking in, dig test holes to see how much penetration has occurred. Plants needing even moisture should not have the upper soil layer get very dry between waterings. Water often enough to keep the upper soil moist but not so often that it becomes smelly and sodden. Landscapes with automatic irrigation systems in my area often have a dank smell, 10 or 15 minutes of watering every summer day is like the regular afternoon cloudburst of a tropical rain forest.

"Unless soil surface is significantly compacted and a puddle forms, spreads over the soil before soaking in a drip will form a narrow and deep, sort of carrot-shaped moistened area of minimal effectiveness."

I read three times, but I don't understand, lol.

The idea with the slow drip is to get the water deeply into the soil so the roots will also go deeper to search for water and then won't need to be watered as much. It is the advice that I've always been given for larger plants (new trees mostly) and it seems to work. It might be that my clay soil distributes the water more evenly than a faster draining soil would.