How frequently and deeply should you water a 1-year old Bloodroot Japanese Maple?

Answer 1

In a container:If your tree is in a container with nice porous, fast draining soil you literally cannot overwater it, but on the flip side it cannot withstand long periods (more than a couple days) without water. Nurseries water thoroughly 2, 3, or more times a day. When watering fill the container with water repeatedly until run-off at the bottom occurs. If you suspect water is running down the sides without getting the inside of the rootball wet, put the pot in a saucer so it can soak some of the water back in. (Do not leave the pot sitting in water all the time.) Planted in the ground:If it is a new planting, you should probably keep it well watered in every other day (in no rain conditions) for the first 2 to 3 weeks when the new roots have awakened and taken hold in their new home.

For an older established planting you shouldn't need to water unless drought conditions exist, but you can water as often as you like to encourage lush growth so long as there isn't standing water.

A soaker hose left running for a longer period is much better and deeper than a surface spray with a hose or sprinkler. The soil should be wet at least 12 inches deep to catch most of the water drinking rootlets.

To help visualize what is happening to the soil, try this experiment: Take a rock hard, dried out old sponge and quickly spray the top surface of the sponge. What you get is a dried out old sponge with a really thin moist spongy layer. If this was your soil all the roots would be growing in that very thin moist layer and would not be protected for droughts.

i think u r referring to the "bloodgood" Japanese maple, acer palmatum