Hey guys today in this video I want to talk about watery specifically watering containers.

This may seem like an easy subject but it can be a little bit tricky and frustrating especially if you’re a beginner gardener so the first thing you want to talk about are a few of the major factors that can affect how much water your containers need. The first one is what style of containers you’re using so if you pick out terracotta this is a more porous material that weeps water more oxygen gets in and out of this container so plants in these containers may need more water than plants in containers that are glazed like glazed ceramic or plastic those type of containers retain more water. The second thing is soil and they are not all the same for example this cactus mixes are really fast draining soil as opposed to the all-purpose potting soil which will retain more moisture.

So if I’m planting in containers my annuals like petunias super bills verbenas

Things like that I’m going to be using my all-purpose potting soil when I’m planting citrus cactus succulents I’ll be using this so you just want to be mindful of what type of soil you’re using and how much water it retains in the same way that different plants require different soil number three is different varieties of plants require different amounts of water so you want to make sure you do a little bit of research. Y ou can usually read it on the back of your plant tag to find out how much water your plants like like this evergreen shrub does not need as much water as these petunias and this little succulent right here likes even less so like in the summertime when it’s a hundred degrees outside which it is right now,

I’m going to be deep watering my petunias every single day my evergreen I will check every day probably give water every other day to every couple of days and then my simpler vitam here will get water maybe once or twice a week and the last thing is weather and this is the one that varies the most.  When it’s really cool out in spring and fall you might be watering your containers every other day to every four days in the summertime when it’s really really hot when it’s a hundred degrees you’re going to need to be checking your plants every single day and probably giving them water every day that’s what I’ve been doing . It’s been over a hundred for the last week and I’ve been watering everything once a day but a couple of days ago we had a pretty breezy day and I had to go out and water some of my things twice so you just have to be mindful of the weather and keep on checking your containers.

So those are a few of the things that can affect how often you’re going to need to water your containers as far as how to water your containers first of all when I plant I like to leave a 1 to 2 inch lip below the edge of the pot. Tthat way when you’re watering water and soil aren’t running out the sides it creates a nice little well as far as what I like to use to water with I prefer to use just a straight up hose and this is completely personal preference but I like it because it’s easy to direct in between plants and underneath plants into the container.  So that I’m not spraying the tops of the plants and getting the blooms all wet I occasionally will use a wand because it’s got a nice mist setting that’s great for seedlings when you water do it really well make sure that all the soil is saturated and water is running out the bottom of your container and this is what creates a really nice deep strong root system.

If you’re just giving a little dribble of water every day the plants roots will stay right at the surface level of the pot and it will make for a much weaker plant so if they have to deal with extra stressors like a really hot dry spell or extra wind or let’s be honest you might forget to water your pots one day. It could mean the difference between a live plant or a dead plant I only have a few of my containers sitting in saucers so for those I let the container drain and then empty the saucer of any moisture that has collected in there because you do not want your pot sitting in water.

That can lead to rot as far as what time of day is best to water I say water whenever you can be consistent whether that’s morning midday late afternoon or early evening do it every day at the same time. If you can the only time that it’s not recommended is really late in the evening because the water usually doesn’t have enough time to dry and that can invite all kinds of disease and bugs like slugs or snails the last and most important thing is to check your containers every single day. Look at the soil look to see if it’s wet or dry maybe stick your fingers in there to check the moisture level and just because one container needs water does not mean that they all need water I think that’s where we oftentimes go wrong we see a dry looking container and then we panic and blanket water everything. Even if they don’t need it and that can lead to sick plants so just keep your eyes on your containers and they will look good all season.