
Try to water plants once a week for young or recently transplanted trees if you do not receive rainfall. Established trees should be watered every three weeks. Trees should be watered to a depth of 12 to 18 inches if possible. Water from the trunk to the outer edge of the branches. Though this will not reach all the roots of a tree, it will reach the majority of them. Trees normally have at least 80 percent of their roots in the top foot of soil. Shrubs should be watered to a depth of 8 to 12 inches. Check the depth of watering by pushing a wooden dowel or metal rod into the soil. It will stop when it hits dry soil. (Ward Upham)