For all of you that are about to put out plants and might be a bit concerned after you first water them! Yes, they are going to look beat up. Yes, they are going to be OK!
The first time you water your transplants, your plants might take a beating. Whether you do it or nature does it, it’s going to happen. They’ve probably been pampered almost their entire life, aside from maybe the one or two you dropped or that your cat got into. That first rain shower or few is going to beat them up pretty good. They’ll be sticking to the dirt, all keeled over and looking like you just ended them.
A lot of new gardeners are probably a lot more timid about watering than we are. You can literally just blast ’em down with a full on spray. I mean, don’t give ’em the “jet setting” on your spray hose like you’re cleaning out your gutters, but any kind of spray pattern is going to be just fine. Don’t feel like you have to give them a gentle mist or carefully avoid each and every plant.
This is actually good for your plants. Plants need a bit of “exercise” to do well. While we don’t appreciate the speed at which plants move, they absolutely do move. They will pick themselves back up, dry off and re-orient themselves for optimal sun absorption. In the meantime, they’ll be building up those “plant muscles” and will come back even stronger. Just as rain and watering exercises our plants, so will the wind.
So, if your garden is looking like a field of war after you water, don’t worry one little bit. Check on them the next day and you’ll find that they’re just fine. If you accidentally hit them with “gutter mode,” yeah, maybe give them a once over. But, you’ll be surprised how resilient plants are.
We often forget how severe our world can be. It’s easy to do when we retreat into our comfortable homes and climate controlled environments. Plants, however, don’t have that luxury once they’re thrown out into the real world. They have to contend with things like heavy rain, wind shear, intense sun, cold temperatures and other things that would have us humans seeking shelter. Those plants are built to take all of that!
Hopefully this helps some of you calm that anxiety and recognize that whatever you do, nature will probably do worse.
