When to Stop Watering New Trees

Bear Creek Tree Service is proud to be our neighborhood’s top choice when people need professional advice from Denver’s expert tree service provider. Every year, our licensed arborists answer questions from hundreds of residents and business owners. Among the most common ones is when to stop watering new trees and how many gallons of water seedlings consume before they mature.

Trees need nutritious soil and a steady supply of moisture to survive. You can water new trees on a range of different schedules, each with its pros and cons. Whether you’re watering a root ball of a newly transferred tree or a germinating seedling, our tree care experts have you covered.

Why Your New Tree Needs Human Intervention

Trees require water to grow new leaves and deliver nutrients to branches and roots. They have a digestive and vascular system inside their trunks, which tree pests can infest without proper access to water sources. Underwatered trees often suffer from leaf curling, branch wilting, and balding crowns, which reduce their photosynthetic capabilities and weaken their immune systems.

Our tree health experts at Bear Creek Tree Service help thousands of clients create watering schedules for their maturing trees. Most trees in suburban settings will not survive without human intervention. Relying on rainfall and seasonal elements to care for your trees might cause them to die before growing their first branches.

Your Watering Schedule

Newly planted trees require at least ten weeks of careful watering before maturation. Here’s a schedule our tree health experts recommend.

Immediately After Planting

On day one, sprinkle water on the immediate space around your newly planted tree and keep the earth evenly moist. Flooding the area will lead to soil compaction and might discourage young roots from breaking out of the seed or root ball.

We recommend using automatic irrigation or a soaker hose.

Your First Two Weeks

Generally, it’s recommended you water trees every day for the first couple of weeks. That said, planting trees in different seasons will result in varying watering schedules:

Trees planted in autumn usually have a once-a-week watering schedule as the temperatures are colder and humidity is low.
New trees in spring might require daily watering for the first two weeks as ambient temperatures warm.
Trees planted in summer will require watering every 12 to 24 hours.
You do not need to water trees on a rainy day.

Your Third to Tenth Week

Evergreen and deciduous trees will only require water every two or three days. Ensure the first 12 inches of topsoil are consistently moist with a trowel or stick. Do not water on days with freezing temperatures.