A: The best tactic is to heavily drench the root zone of the new plants – never water the foliage. Plants do not take in moisture through their foliage and constantly wet leaves are susceptible to bacterial and fungal diseases.
A heavy watering (mixed with periods of drying out) will promote healthy roots that grow down to follow the water as it drains. In the process, root systems grow longer, deeper and stronger which makes them better able to withstand extreme weather conditions like drought and cold temperatures. Watering too frequently with small amounts of water promotes shallow root growth which leaves them susceptible to those extreme water conditions. A good watering would be comparable to 1″ of rain.
For most areas, hand watering with a garden hose works best. However, larger planting beds and longer rows of hedging plants like arborvitaes may be impractical to water by hand. For those, we recommend soaker hoses that slowly release water to the roots with very little runoff.