Watering Schedule

Overview

New trees require manual watering in addition to sprinkler systems for the first year. We provide two methods to manually water the trees with either a Tree Gator or garden hose. Our watering schedules are based upon seasonal average temperatures and rainfall not extremes, so use good judgment and vary your watering based upon current temperatures and rainfall.

Tree Gator Information

Treeland sells Tree Gators for $15 ea. + tax and customers can add them to their tree order anytime before their delivery date.

Using a Tree Gator is an excellent way to water your newly planted trees. Customers often prefer to use Tree Gators rather than watering by hand because it is quick and easy to install and once the bag is filled you can simply walk away and not worry about when to turn off the water. Tree Gators also allow 100% of the water to be absorbed which enables the entire root ball and surrounding soil to be completely saturated. When the watering is complete we recommend that customers remove the bags because Tree Gators that are left on over extended periods of time can cause problems with insects and fungi along the trunk. It is made of a green UV-protected plastic that holds up to 20 Gallons of water which is released via two small holes at the bottom of the bag. This allows trees to be slowly and continuously watered for up to 9 hours with no run off. Tree Gators are not suitable for trees and shrubs with branches less than 30” from the ground which is the height of the bag when filled and customers faced with this situation should use a garden hose.

*When Tree Gators are zipped together it allows each bag to expand more than it normally would just zipped to itself.

Tree Gator Watering Schedule

1. From April through November we assume that customers are using their sprinkler systems for a total of 45 minutes per week in the areas where trees are planted. For customers that do not have a sprinkler system or use it less than 30 minutes per week from April through November then increase the number of gallons by 50%. If you are substantially above 45 minutes per week then please adjust your tree gator watering accordingly.
2. Skip one watering only if it rains more than 1” in a 24 hour period.
3. Before any freeze of 25° F or lower be sure to water your trees in order to protect the root system. This will create a layer of ice on top of the rootball which will prevent freezing air from penetrating and then damaging the root system.

Garden Hose Watering Schedule

When using a garden hose simply place the hose on the uphill side of the root ball and set the flow rate to ½” in width which is equivalent to .75 gallons per minute. In order to determine the water flow rate fill up a 1 gallon container and count the number of seconds that it takes to fill it up. A water flow rate of .75 gallons per minute should take approximately 80 seconds to fill up a 1 gallon container. Once the flow rate is determined place the garden hose on top of the root ball and refer to the garden hose watering schedule (see below) to determine the number of minutes that the tree should be watered. If there is a significant amount of water that is not being absorbed or is running off the root ball then we recommend reducing the flow rate to ¼” width (160 seconds to fill a 1 gallon container) and doubling the number of minutes.

1. From April through November we assume that customers are using their sprinkler systems for a total of 45 minutes per week in the areas where trees are planted. For customers that do not have a sprinkler system or use it less than 30 minutes per week from April through November then increase the number of gallons by 50%. If you are substantially above 45 minutes per week then please adjust your hand watering accordingly.
2. Skip one watering only if it rains more than 1” in a 24 hour period.
3. Reduce the flow rate to ¼” width and double the number of minutes if there is a significant amount of water not being absorbed.
4. Before any freeze of 25° F or lower be sure to water your trees in order to protect the root system. This will create a layer of ice on top of the rootball which will prevent freezing air from penetrating and then damaging the root system.

>> back to top