Let’s say you just planted an avocado tree from a five-gallon container, the typical size available at nurseries. How should you water this tree?

First, immediately after planting you should water lavishly, making sure that all of the container soil is wet and also making sure that the surrounding native soil is also wet to a couple feet away from the tree and a couple feet deep. One way you can do this is by leaving a basin around the tree that you can fill with water over and over, as seen in the photo above. You’re likely going to need to apply about 10 gallons to do this, or even more if the soil is very dry, as it usually is in Southern California between June and October. 

Why water the container soil? Because that’s where the tree’s roots are. Why water the surrounding soil when the tree’s roots are in the container soil? Because if the surrounding native soil is dry, it is capable of sucking water from the container soil, and this will leave the tree’s roots thirsty.

Where to apply the water

After planting day, when you start a routine of watering the new avocado tree, the water you give it must be applied close to the trunk.

So if you use a drip emitter, for example, stake it so it drips water near the trunk, over the original container soil.

Note the drip line staked an inch or so from the trunk.

I usually also add some water on the surrounding native soil every couple weeks by hand. This helps ensure that the surrounding soil isn’t extracting water from the container soil, and it also provides moist soil for the tree’s roots to eventually explore. Depending on the time of year and the condition of the soil, the tree will root into that surrounding native soil in a few weeks to a few months.

But I must emphasize that the most important thing, by far, is that you’re initially watering the tree where its roots are. And in the first month or two, a newly planted avocado tree still has all of its roots in that original container soil in exactly the same position they were in when you put the tree into its hole. Therefore, for the first month or two you must water the tree right next to the trunk.

How often and how much

And how much should you water each time? I’ll try to be as specific as possible (this is for a five-gallon tree).

For a tree planted in spring or early fall:

  • Week 1- water every other day, 2 gallons each time
  • Week 2- water every three days, 3 gallons each time
  • Weeks 3/4- water every four days, 3 gallons each time

For a tree planted in summer:

  • Week 1- water every day, 1 gallon each time
  • Week 2- water every other day, 2 gallons each time
  • Weeks 3/4- water every three days, 3 gallons each time

For a tree planted in late fall or winter:

  • Week 1- water every three days, 2 gallons each time
  • Week 2- water every four days, 2 gallons each time
  • Weeks 3/4- water every five days, 3 gallons each time

Remember that your baby avocado tree will use more or less water according to the weather conditions. If there’s an extreme heat wave soon after planting, you may have to water every day. Likewise, if there are storms every week during winter, you’ll not need to water at all. But there could also be warm, dry Santa Anas in winter, which could make your new avocado tree want water every few days despite the winter season.

In general, you’ll water frequently at first and then less often as time goes on. This is because the tree will eventually grow its roots into the surrounding native soil and have more stamina because of its larger root system. The watering schedule will change to more closely approximate the schedule it can use for the rest of its life.

What’s the schedule for an established avocado tree? See my post, “How much and how often to water an avocado tree in California.”

Materials and products

It doesn’t much matter what materials or products you use to water the tree, from that first watering through the entire first year. Watering by hand with a can or a hose is fine, watering by drip emitters can work fine as long as the emitters are close to the trunk and directly on top of the original container soil, and a sprinkler works great too.

Personally, I prefer using sprayers, or sprinklers with a sprayer insert, on new avocado trees. I’ve had success using a sprayer made by DIG, and I’ve used a little sprinkler made by Philmac, shown in the photo below.

DIG sprayer and Philmac sprinkler/sprayer

But if I had to recommend one, I’d go with this micro sprinkler made by DIG:

The reason I’d recommend it is because it’s both widely available and it’s a great product. It’s sold at Home Depot as well as many other stores, both online and physical. It costs around $3.

And why is it a great product? Similar to the Philmac sprinkler, DIG’s micro sprinkler can be the first and last watering device that you buy and install for the life of your avocado tree. This is because it comes with a 90-degree sprayer insert that works perfectly on a newly planted tree, as shown in the photo above, in addition to a spinner insert that will apply water in a wide diameter (up to 25 feet), so it can be used on big, mature trees too.

I use a sprayer on new trees, and then switch to a rotating sprinkler (spinner) once a tree’s canopy is more than about four feet in diameter, which tends to be after two years in the ground. The easiest way to do this is to use something like Philmac’s sprinkler or DIG’s micro sprinkler, which can be used in sprayer and spinner modes.

One modification I make is that I always insert a little shut-off valve on the tubing so that I can adjust the volume on the sprayer, and later on the sprinkler. (Note the shut-off valve on the Philmac sprinkler tubing in the photo above.)

Here is a video I made showing this sprinkler watering avocado trees in my yard:

You might also like to read:

How to plant and stake an avocado tree

How long until an avocado tree fruits?

Do you need two avocado trees to get fruit?

Growing avocados in Southern California

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