Moving into a new neighborhood, our yard and landscaping was young and sparse. The shrubbery, small and newly planted, outlined the perimeter of our house. The trees reached only a few feet tall. I’ve never had a green thumb; in fact, I once killed a cactus. I knew I’d need some guidance to keep these plants alive and thriving in the Texas heat.

As we looked at houses, we noticed green bags around many trees in newer neighborhoods. Our realtor explained the Treegator watering bags to us. These 20 gallon slow drip bags offer the ideal watering method for newly planted trees. The bags easily zip around the trunk of the tree; users fill the bag with a watering hose and the bag takes care of the rest. Two small holes in the base of the bag allow the water to slowly and evenly seep out of the bag and soak the tree. The water releases over five to nine hours, producing a deep soaking. Watering is reduced to one or two times a week with this process.

With the Treegator bags, the water seeps directly into the ground and teaches the tree’s roots to look straight down for water instead of spreading out sideways. This prevents tree roots from spreading out and possible house foundation problems. Another benefit for using the tree bags, homeowners prevent water runoff and evaporation. The water goes directly into the ground, making watering easy and efficient.

The official website sells each bag for $23.95, but several other websites offer lower prices for the same or similar products. For some, this may seem an expensive way to water your trees. However, let me tell you it’s worth every penny. We had some of the largest trees in the neighborhood, never worried about our trees dying and controlled the water they received. In the summer, we watered our trees twice a week due to the hot, dry conditions, but they remained healthy and green.

A word of advice when mowing and edging, remove the bags from any trees. My husband and I learned this the hard way. We left the bags in place until we accidentally hit one with the lawnmower. This created a huge hole in the side of the bag, and it leaked water profusely. The result, we purchased a new bag and started removing the bags when doing yard work.