Irrigation is equally important for plants held for sale in retail outlets.
Container-grown plants have a limited soil volume that must be recharged with water more frequently than plants grown in the field where root growth is not restricted. Growers realize their plants can be damaged or even killed if the moisture available to them is limited. Consequently water is frequently used in excessive quantities by nurserymen who want to avoid plant wilt or lengthened production schedules due to periods of moisture stress. Since the supply of good quality water has been plentiful for so long, it is taken for granted by many individuals and used excessively. In other cases, nurserymen fail to recognize a few small precautions which can conserve water and the energy required to distribute it.