It depends. Do you have a thick layer of mulch on both? How long is the water on? How big are the containers? what is the situation? Full sun, full shade, in between? The only way to tell for sure is at the site. I would check every day to see if the soil is staying damp. Also just see what the plants look like. Some plants will wilt in the sun and perk back up in the evening.

I suspect you'll hit 100 no matter what the forecast says. Still, that will be cooler than recent days.

You really cannot water by a formula, like "twice a week for twenty minutes" or whatever, because the temperature, sunlight and wind contribute to how quickly the soil dries out and all of those are constantly changing. Your specific soil type also plays a role in how long soil holds moisture. Different parts of my landscape and garden need to be watered in different ways depending on whether the soil is clay, clayey loam, sandy-clay, sugar sand, silty sand or a rich humusy clay loam (which is only in the woodland). Because the soil's composition differs, the needs of each area differs in terms of how much water it needs. I have to water the different areas based on what I observe in real time combined with what I've learned about meeting those plants' needs over the years.

You need to do the same with your plants, whether they are in pots or in the ground. It is better to water slowly and deeply less often so the moisture soaks into the ground than to water shallowly more often. I like to water until the water gets down at least 4-6" below the soil surface so that the root zone of the plants have access to the water. Observe them and see if they look healthy, have good color, are continuing to produce flowers or fruit or whatever, etc.

Containers have their own needs as Dorothy pointed out. With smaller containers that sit in full sun, you may need to water three times a day. I have tomatoes, brugmansias, peppers and figs in 10-20 gallon containers with a great, well-draining soil-less mix and I water them twice a day when the temps are over 100 and three times a day when the temps are over 105-108 or thereabouts. I have a 200-gallon container in full sun that only needs to be watered about every 3rd day. I have herbs in morning sun and afternoon shade in 3 gallon pots and they only need to be watered once or twice a week. Your plants will do best if you customize your watering to whatever it is that they need. If they are not getting what they need they'll show you by wilting heavily and not recovering well from the wilting after sunset, by turning yellow or brown or dropping leaves, etc.

If plants wilt during the day and do not perk up within an hour or two of sunset, they may be in trouble and may need to be watered. However, some plants with really large leaves might not perk up just after sunset but will look fine the next morning.

Look at your plants and ask yourself if they look good, if they look healthy and if they look happy, considering what the temperatures are like. If they do, then you're probably watering enough. If they don't, then something's wrong--they need either more water or they need more nutrition, or they may need some temporary shading to help them get through the July-August heat. Be careful that you do not evaluate them at the hottest point of the day, because they will look worse then. Evaluate them in the morning before 10 a.m. or in the evening after 7 p.m. and see how they look then. Between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. you'll likely see temporary water stress or heat stress symptoms, but as long as the plants rebound from those symptoms, they're doing fine.

Be sure you mulch the ground and even the soil surface in the pots. In this sun and heat, unmulched soil in full sunlight can easily hit 140 degrees and that's just going to cook your plant roots.

Hope this helps,

Dawn

I am watering once a week with soaker and drip lines for 2 hours. Plants are not happy but they are surviving. By the way, all beds have think layer of mulch. I have living wall on west side covered with drought hardy wines of ridge and sponge gourds. They provide after noon shade to chillies and eggplants.

Coming weekend we are heading to North and East US for family vacation for about 15 days, I requested couple of my friends to water and harvest produce they want. If we receive couple of showers that would be great.

I am leaving town too and praying for rain! Rain does a much more efficient and effective job than my sprinklers.

My stuff is just hanging on. I have not been watering nearly as much as I have in past years. I set out two sprinklers in the morning and sometimes two (front and back) in the evening, but that is about it. Many years I have been a slave to the sprinklers every evening, but I just can't seem to make myself do that this year.

My backyard is going to get a severe makeover, hopefully this fall. I've been swearing to do it for several years, but I think I'm ready. I am going to put in flowering bushes along my back fence and remove the flowerbeds back there. They are in full sun and I just cannot keep them happy. They look like a weedy mess and I can't take it any more! My messy forsythia bush and the honeysuckle that invaded it is going to go too.

Lisa

I am trying shade plants. I first tried this in the late 70's with strawberries and was happy with the process. I planted a few okra seeds between my sweet potato plants hoping to provide a little shade. The sweet potatoes smothered out most of the okra before it grew above the sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes are also running up between my peppers, it seems to help keep the mulch cooler, which also seems to reduce the water needs. The biggest problem I see now is how to get out and pick the okra without trampling my sweet potato plants, but I have other okra plants in an area that is easy to harvest.

For me The best weapon against heat and lack of water is mulch, and more mulch.

Larry

I am watering plants daily, but not the same ones. last year my ferns died, this year they are staying alive with all my watering. our water bill was huge last month and hate to see this month's.

Lisa, can I come over and get that forsythia bush, if I dig it up?

I would love to have one, without having to pay for it. :)

Moni