Eli5: How long after planting do you need to water a tree? what factors such as age, etc affect the need for watering?
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A few years, depending on climate and species, but the important thing is that you water deeply infrequently.
Roots do not just grow down. They grow toward water, so if you water shallowly and frequently rather than going down they spread out and can only tap water right at the surface.. where it fights not only the sun but every other plant for water. By watering deeply you allow water to seep down and thebroots to follow, in a sense training the root to tap into an area that fewer plants will use and that will retain moisture longer.
Some trees, such as coast redwoods, have shallow roots by design. But they also “share” roots and so avoid the pitfalls of shallow roots – less drought proof, less healthy, and prone to falling at medium to high wind. A tree with a healthy root system is pretty drought tolerant once established and, unless diseased or old, won’t topple in the wind the way a lawn watered tree will
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