After customers water their tree(s) for the first time we recommend that all customers complete soil moisture tests which are critical to avoid over or under watering trees when the soil doesn’t drain as expected. The goal of the soil moisture test is to adjust the number of gallons that are being applied so that the soil has the texture of Play-Doh (soft, moist, pliable and cool to the touch) every 48 hours after the trees are watered and this rule should be followed all year long.
This test gives us the most useful information regarding the proper watering of your tree. We also recommend that customers complete soil moisture tests when there are significant temperature changes or in periods of extended rainfall. If there are multiple trees planted, we recommend that a soil moisture test be completed on each tree as the soil moisture can vary from tree to tree even if they are only planted a couple feet apart. There have been many instances of multiple trees being planted near one another and the soil moisture test indicates that the watering frequency must be altered for individual trees within that group. The most important part about completing the soil moisture tests is that we know precisely how many gallons are being applied on the trees each watering (consistency is key). If we water the trees with a variable number of gallons each watering then we will not know what adjustments need to be made as the soil samples are collected. Watering schedules can normally be customized over the span of 2 to 3 weeks after multiple soil samples have been taken.