When the temperature gets over 85 degrees and humidity sets in plants use water more quickly. The more established plants use it up faster thanks to a bigger root ball. This usually means plants will need to be watered every day or every other day. When it's cooler out and not that humid you don't need to water that often but you still need to check each day unless you got a heavy rain the day before, or are expecting one that day.
Most of the time the weather forecast matches the sky and it's easy to judge if you should check if the plants need watering or not. But at this time of year things get tricky. We have gotten a lot of heavy rain over the last few weeks but went through a dry spell last week. The weather is unpredictable and a couple of times now it has called for rain all day and we got none.
The water is how plants get nutrients and it's better to get a little too much water then too little. It actually takes a lot to be "too much" although each plant has it's own watering needs. That's fine if you go to each plant with a watering can but at this time of year they all need water so a hose is more practical. Check all the plants before pulling out the hose first just to be sure.
On Thursday it called for rain all day. At some points it even looked like it would rain. Around 6pm I took a good look at the AOL weather forecast. That includes several views of the rain path map. The soonest it was going to rain was around 10pm. I decided to gently water because the flowers were so dry. They had called for rain on Wednesday too and I didn't water. When it didn't rain on Wednesday I knew I would have to risk watering on Thursday if it didn't rain by dinner time. Of course we got a heavy rain around 11pm on Thursday night.
I didn't even check the flowers on Friday but on Saturday we were going to my parent's cabin at the lake overnight so I wouldn't be able to water until Sunday afternoon. I was surprised that the flowers didn't need watering at my place but did at my Parent's. I even asked a neighbor if she watered. I helped plant a lot of her garden and I water her garden sometimes. I asked Paula upstairs if she watered and she said "only if you ask me to".
The only difference between my place and my Parent's is that I watered before the heavy rain on Thursday night. That meant my flowers had more to soak up. Since it was a light water, I am not worried about root rot and they still look really healthy.
On Sunday it rained on the drive home. I debated watering but it rained a little while I was assessing the garden. It didn't rain much and by Sunday evening the garden hadn't really been watered since that rain on Thursday night. The plants were a little dry so I gave them a little water. We got an hour long downpour on Monday morning. At least there was 14 hours between when I watered and when it downpoured.
Today isn't a problem. We're expecting at least 1/2 and inch of rain and the ground is clearly still moist from yesterday. The watering and rain are spaced far enough apart where the plants have been able to take their time absorbing the nutrients and aren't being flooded.
Every gardener has some version of this story. There are times when it calls for rain and the soil is dry but you get concerned about too much water too. It's hard to tell how much rain you'll eventually get as well.
I have learned that "heavy rain" means small drops and at least an inch and that's enough for a flood warning in areas prone to flood. "Heavy showers" mean the same thing as "heavy rain" but with bigger drops. "Showers" mean you'll usually get between 1/2 an inch and an inch of rain with big drops. It doesn't mean flood conditions possible but it does mean you need an umbrella. "Few Showers" means periods through that time where it will rain enough to need an umbrella but they come and go. "Rain" is what most people refer to as "spitting". When it's technically raining you might not even need an umbrella. Unless "rain" turns into "few showers" it's not going to help the plants.
If you pay attention to the hourly forecasts for rainy days you'll see changes between "few showers" and "rain" throughout the day. That's because rain itself changes through the day. We simply refer to them as "rainy days" but there are a few layers to what makes a "rainy day".
Every gardener sometimes has to decide: it's been calling for rain all day but it hasn't rained yet and my plants are struggling, should I water? We all answer that question differently based on the circumstances at that time. In my case, my flowers needed nutrients on Thursday. A light watering helped them get strong and even though that night we got "heavy rain" and "heavy showers" my plants would have suffered more if I didn't water and it didn't rain. It had been a day and a half since they had gotten watered. Without those nutrients, they die. The heat and humidity use the water up faster as well.
It was the same judgment on Sunday. I couldn't risk that lack of nutrients. I checked the soil, they needed the water. What would you have done? Some would have done the same others wouldn't have. We never know if watering is the best choice until the next day. I'm glad I watered on Sunday. It was a light water and they were ready for more when the downpour happened. I was getting mixed reading about how much to expect on Thursday. If I knew it would be that much I wouldn't have watered but I'm still glad I did.
Established plants, meaning planted at least three weeks before, can handle 5 -7 days of wet soil without their roots rotting. Earlier in the month I brought my pots in during the downpours but didn't this time. The roots are established now and my in ground flowers at my Mom's house had no problem with all that heavy rain/showers in early June. As long as I check the soil, I know if it needs water or not. I just keep waiting for the annual drought/almost-drought. Starting in Early - Mid July we go through a phase each year where it doesn't rain for days and it's hot and humid. Those are the days when you know you have to water every day. There isn't a guessing game.
It's something I did a lot of research on this Winter. By now, that's probably obvious. In the past, I was never sure if my flowers needed water or not unless the soil was obviously dry or we got more then just "rain". When it's only one day they call for "showers" and it doesn't "shower" most gardeners don't water that day in case it does "shower". But we're in the middle of a two week window where "isolated thunderstorms" or "scattered thunderstorms" are called. Thunder doesn't always mean "heavy rain"/"heavy showers". Sometimes it just means a little rain along with the thunder and other times it means "showers". When the forecast mentions "thunder" it's unclear what the rainfall accompanying it will look like. It gets frustrating to have to guess how many inches to expect for the sake of plant care.
When that happens for days in a row it means sometimes we'll water and it'll downpour, sometimes we won't water and it won't rain for days in a row. I take an every other day approach. The first day rain in any form is in the forecast I don't water. After dinner the second day, assuming it hasn't rained yet, I check and do a quick light water if needed. It's best to water in the morning if it will be above 75 degrees and the afternoon if below 75 degrees but at this time of year they might need watering more then once a day and evening is better then nothing.
Today's forecast at the moment looks like this:
| Time | Temps | Wind Chill | Heat Index | UV Index | Dew Point | Relative Humidity | Precip | Snow | Clouds | Visibility | Wind | Weather | |
| 11 AM | 77° | 77° | 81° | 5 Moderate | 73° | 82% | 40% | 0% | 76% | 10mi 16KM | S 9mph |  | Showers |
| 12 PM | 79° | 79° | 84° | 6 High | 73° | 79% | 50% | 0% | 77% | 10mi 16KM | S 10mph | | Showers |
| 1 PM | 80° | 80° | 84° | 6 High | 71° | 74% | 50% | 0% | 81% | 10mi 16KM | S 11mph |  | Sct T-Storms |
| 2 PM | 80° | 80° | 84° | 6 High | 71° | 74% | 60% | 0% | 86% | 10mi 16KM | S 11mph | | Sct T-Storms |
| 3 PM | 80° | 80° | 84° | 3 Moderate | 71° | 74% | 60% | 0% | 88% | 10mi 16KM | S 11mph | | Sct T-Storms |
| 4 PM | 79° | 79° | 83° | 3 Moderate | 71° | 76% | 60% | 0% | 87% | 10mi 16KM | SSW 11mph | | Sct T-Storms |
| 5 PM | 79° | 79° | 83° | 2 Low | 71° | 76% | 60% | 0% | 85% | 10mi 16KM | SSW 11mph | | Sct T-Storms |
| 6 PM | 80° | 80° | 84° | 1 Low | 70° | 71% | 60% | 0% | 84% | 10mi 16KM | SSW 11mph | | Sct T-Storms |
| 7 PM | 80° | 80° | 84° | 0 Low | 70° | 71% | 60% | 0% | 85% | 10mi 16KM | SSW 11mph | | Sct T-Storms |
| 8 PM | 80° | 80° | 84° | 0 Low | 69° | 69% | 60% | 0% | 85% | 10mi 16KM | S 10mph | | Sct T-Storms |
| 9 PM | 79° | 79° | 82° | 0 Low | 69° | 71% | 60% | 0% | 85% | 10mi 16KM | S 9mph |  | Sct T-Storms |
| 10 PM | 77° | 77° | 81° | 0 Low | 70° | 79% | 60% | 0% | 85% | 10mi 16KM | S 8mph | | Sct T-Storms |
| 11 PM | 76° | 76° | 80° | 0 Low | 70° | 82% | 60% | 0% | 84% | 10mi 16KM | S 7mph | | Sct T-Storms |
I find that once it says 50% chance or higher it almost always does the precipitation predicted at some point during the time period when it's a 50% chance and higher. I won't check after dinner since it rained so much yesterday.
Below are notes from my research this past Winter. I didn't want it to be just a guessing game anymore. It really needs to be an educated guessing game. There will always be times when it's not clear if the grass or garden needs water but I have found these notes to be helpful and my flowers are doing better this year.
| Container Watering Notes: 9" pots and bigger need rocks to help with drainage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Will be wet while roots establish (3 weeks): water after planting and if soil crumbles even a little | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Try to see water coming out the bottoms when watering (want moist not wet) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Don't Water: Pot is average weight, there are particles on a deeply inserted stick, the ground is moist, & the plant is perky | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Water: Pot is light, there are no particles on the deeply inserted stick, the ground underneath is dry, & the plant is wilted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Flooding: Established plants will be fine for up to a week. Aerating loosens soil and helps drainage in any plant | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Watering Notes: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Check each day of growing season and water after planting even moist soil | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Water at the base of the stem when possible (soil only if possible freeze) Lukewarm temperature is best | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Before evening (morning when above 75° afternoon when below 75°) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Water if soil crumbles apart in your fingers even a little (It should hold together without packing densely) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Trees, Shrubs & Woody
Perennials: every other day when 85° and ↑ or 1" a week during growing
season
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