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Sunday - June 22, 2014

From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Watering, Trees
Title: Watering a Chinquapin Oak in Austin, TX
Answered by: Larry Larson

QUESTION:

I have a question about watering. I planted a Chinquapin Oak about 7 months ago and it's about 8 feet tall and doing well. I water it weekly on a slow drip for about an hour. I expect that my job is to "get it through" this rough Austin summer. After that is accomplished, can I consider this tree "established"? How long must I provide additional water for this tree?

ANSWER:

Mr Smarty Plants thinks your approach is just fine. In reviewing the advice we’ve given: We’ve advised that “a reasonable guideline for watering trees would be to set the bubblers to water once every 2 weeks for 2 hours. Once the trees are established, in about 2 years time, stop watering unless there is extreme drought”. Weekly for an hour is quite close enough! Notice the comment about extreme drought though, we recommend watering even the most established trees monthly during ongoing drought conditions, your young Quercus muehlenbergii (Chinkapin oak) will need at least this level of care it doesn’t get consistent rainfall.

Still, I feel I’ve shorted you a bit by just agreeing! Here are some YouTube videos on good watering practices and also some previous Mr Smarty Plants Question/Answer Pairs about watering trees.

YouTube Instruction Videos:
Watering Young Trees
Tree Watering Tips for Texas

Mr Smarty Plants Question/Answer Pairs:

Watering Native Trees in Georgetown, TX

Care of Live Oaks in Katy, Texas

Watering Live Oak trees from McAllen TX

From the Image Gallery

Chinkapin oak
Quercus muehlenbergii