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| Moisture Meter |
Watering newly planted trees and shrubs can be a challenge. It is not easy to determine if the root ball is wet or dry. I am going to share with you my method for checking to see if the tree and/or shrub is moist or dry.
Over or under watering any plant is a cause for stress or death of the roots. To prevent this from happening on houseplants, a lot of people use a moisture meter in the home for checking the plants watering needs. What I have done is to expand this practice to check the moisture in the root ball on outside plants.
The best practice is to insert the probe of the moisture meter into the root ball and check the reading. The dial is usually calibrated from 1 to 10, with a reading of 1 designated as DRY and 10 designated as WET. Your goal is to get the root ball wet after you water it and then let it go towards a drier reading prior to watering again. The process of going from wet to dry allows the roots to be in the ideal condition of having the right amount of air and moisture to generate new roots.
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| Moisture Meter |
I have found this to be very useful on new plantings for the first one to two years - during the establishment phase of generating new roots. After that, the plant should be able to ‘be on its own’ and the monitored seasonally. For more information on caring for newly planted trees: TreeCare
Don’t guess if the plant needs water; investigate by using the moisture meter to determine if it needs water. If the meter says the root ball is wet, don’t water. Wait until the meter goes toward the dry reading and then water the root ball. Meters cost about $10+, save time, and will assist you in determining if your tree/shrub needs water as it adapts.