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Don't worry if you're new to container gardening and not sure how often or how much you'll need to water. If you follow the steps below, checking moisture levels regularly, you will quickly be in tune with the needs of your plants.

To help you prioritise your plants' watering needs, bear in mind that:

• Young and newly-planted plants need watering regularly (often daily) in warm, dry weather
• Drought tolerant plants , like those with small, fleshy or silvery leaves, can be left longer between waterings
• Deep pots hold moisture longer than shallow ones
• Terracotta pots dry out quickly and metal ones heat up in the sunshine, baking the compost inside
• Containers in north and east-facing positons hold moisture longer than those in south and west-facing positions, as they aren't dried out by long spells of strong sunshine

What you’ll need to water your containers:

• Watering can fitted with a fine rose
• A hosepipe on a spray setting (where a watering can is impractical)
• Saucers or drip trays (for summer use)

• Plan to water early morning or early evening Watering at the cooler times of day reduces the amount of water evaporating from the soil surface, meaning more is available to plant roots.

• Check the moisture level of each container before you water Use your finger to feel for the moisture level to about a third of the way down the pot. If it’s dry at that depth, then watering is needed.Remember plants use and lose more water in warm, windy weather, and light rain and short showers are unlikely to wet the soil more than a few centimetres down, so watering may still be needed even if it has recently rained.

• Fill your watering can to a manageable weight It’s better for your back to do more trips with a lighter weight than struggle with a heavy can.

• Water slowly and thoroughly to soak the compost
  Can refer to either home-made garden compost or seed/potting compost: • Garden compost is a soil improver made from decomposed plant waste, usually in a compost bin or heap. It is added to soil to improve its fertility, structure and water-holding capacity. Seed or potting composts are used for growing seedlings or plants in containers - a wide range of commercially produced peat-free composts are available, made from a mix of various ingredients, such as loam, composted bark, coir and sand, although you can mix your own. Pour on enough water to fill up to the rim of the pot and let that soak into the soil before repeating once more. Watering slowly, close to the pot, stops soil being disturbed and eroded.

• Water the soil, not the foliage This helps to avoid spreadingdisease spores, like those of rose black spot , and causing scorch damage on sensitive plants when droplets heat up in the sun. Water intercepted by the foliage also means less reaches the roots.

• Stop watering before it runs out the bottom of the pot Completely saturating the soil is not good nor needed for healthy plant growth, it wastes water and washes nutrients
  To grow well, plants need a wide range of nutrients in various amounts, depending on the individual plant and its stage of growth. The three key nutrients usually taken up from the soil are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Plants also need carbon, oxygen and hydrogen to make carbohydrates — their main energy source. Carbon and oxygen come from the air as carbon dioxide, while hydrogen is drawn from water absorbed by the roots. Other important soil nutrients include magnesium, calcium and sulphur. Most garden soils contain enough of these nutrients to support healthy plant growth. out of the soil. Aim to stop just before, or as soon as, you see water coming from drainage holes.

Watering can become a bit of a chore during the summer if you have lots of plants in pots, so it's worth considering methods of conserving moisture to make the task easier. These include grouping plants to raise local air humidity

The concentration of water vapour in the atmosphere. This affects the rate at which plants transpire (lose water from their leaf pores), which in turn affects how much water their roots absorb from the soil. If air humidity is low, plants transpire quickly and become at risk of wilting if water is lost from the leaves faster than it can be absorbed by the roots. Different plants require different levels of humidity to thrive. Many tropical houseplants need high humidity and are best grown in a steamy bathroom, misted regularly or placed on a saucer of damp pebbles. In a greenhouse, humidity can be raised in hot weather by damping down (wetting) the floor or overhead misting. , standing pots in trays or saucers to catch any run-off and mulching

Mulch is a layer of material, at least 5cm (2in) thick, applied to the soil surface in late autumn to late winter (Nov-Feb). It is used to provide frost protection, improve plant growth by adding nutrients or increasing organic matter content, reducing water loss from the soil, for decorative purposes and suppressing weeds. Examples include well-rotted garden compost and manure, chipped bark, gravel, grit and slate chippings. pots to reduce water loss from the soil.

Just remember that roots need oxygen as well as water, so empty any trays and saucers a few hours after watering to prevent the compost

Can refer to either home-made garden compost or seed/potting compost: • Garden compost is a soil improver made from decomposed plant waste, usually in a compost bin or heap. It is added to soil to improve its fertility, structure and water-holding capacity. Seed or potting composts are used for growing seedlings or plants in containers - a wide range of commercially produced peat-free composts are available, made from a mix of various ingredients, such as loam, composted bark, coir and sand, although you can mix your own. becoming completely saturated. Remove them completely over winter.

If you have previously gardened in peat-based compost, you may need to water a little less heavily but more often in peat-free compost, but use the tips above to help you decide when your container needs some water.