How Much Water My Newly Planted Privacy Evergreen Trees Need?

For simplicity sake we can assume that most trees are planted during the Spring to Fall season in warm weather.

Also, most Arborvitae (Green Giant, American Pillar, etc.) and Cypress (Murray, Leyland, etc.) will be about 5 - 8 feet tall, so about 1 Inch tree trunk diameter.

In such a case the tree will need about 10 gallons of water a day after planting and slightly less once established.

Since dripline irrigation is by far the optimum way to water trees, we refer to the dripline we currently use: Emitter Flow : Emitter Spacing : 12", 0.33 GPH. This dripline will emit about 8 Gallons of water every 12” which assures the newly planted tree will get sufficient water. If water is expensive, it may make sense to add a timer and run the drip line less than 24 hours a day.

Overwatering with a dripline is almost impossible and the tree will produce much larger roots with drip than with flood irrigation.

5/8" Drip Tape - Wall Thickness : 10 mil - Emitter Spacing : 12" - Emitter Flow : 0.33 GPH