In a normal NYC winter, I give all my outdoor container plants a cup of cold water in late January or early February. I'm not sure what to do this year. It's been hovering in the mid 40s with leaps up to the sixties and dips into the twenties. The grass is still green. Cherry trees are blooming in Brooklyn. The daffodils are up in the park and my crocuses are peaking out. The magnolias lost their leaves, greened up, lost half and pushed out some more. But no rain. Should I be watering regularly? And if so, should I be watering fully?
Northerner needs watering advice. It's warm. What do I do?
If it's not raining/snowing then you should be watering--frequency won't be as often as you would in the heat of summer though. If you're not sure, wait until you think it might be time to water and do the finger test--stick your finger down a few inches into the ground in a few areas of the garden. If it's still wet then hold off. If by watering fully you mean giving things a good thorough soaking instead of just a sprinkle, then yes.
Oi. That means turning on the valve inside, reattaching the hose, watering and then taking off the hose, turning off the valve inside, going back out and opening up the faucet every time I water in case the temperature drops. Global warming, you are testing my patience.
thanks ecrane3.
Do the finger test in the soil first--I don't know how much precipitation you've had this winter but it's possible your plants don't need anything yet. The soil takes a longer to dry out in the winter than it does in the summer, plus the plants aren't actively growing so they don't go through water as fast so watering frequency will be a lot less than in the summer. But if you've had an extra dry winter then it's very possible that they'll need to be watered.
They're dry. Normally, I'd give them just enough to get them through the winter, but there is no winter so I wasn't sure if I should soak them or not. As ever, thanks for the advice.