Thanks for reply! I am only worried because I don't know that the shrubs are "thriving". The viburnum especially looked a bit rough by the time I planted them

None of the shrubs will be doing much over winter and if newly planted, may not be looking their best at this time of year. Unless fully established, I wouldn't expect much to look like it is "thriving" now........reevaluate in spring :-))

ETA: If you are working with clay soil with a tendency to 'pond', I'd be very cautious about any watering in winter.

Ofttimes, the concern is that winter soils stay too wet!

Right on the money! Some think plants die because of the tough winter but in reality its the wet soil. Its the only bonus I get with my extremely fast draining soil.

dormant plants in cold ... with no real day heat ..... have little or no need for any water ..and the soil just isnt going to dry like it might in the heat of summer ...

most likely.. all you could do.. is love them to death by providing that which they dont need ...

keep your hand trowel handy .. and go out once a month and FIND OUT if the soil is dry down an inch or 3 ...

if the soil is frozen ... walk away ...

if the soil is covered by snow.. dont bother ...

if for some reason known only to ma nature... all you have is blistering wind all winter with no mulch ... and no snow.. then perhaps the soil might dry a bit down a few inches ... [never forget.. the roots of your plant are down 6 to 10 inches ... dont get confused by what the surface looks like]....

i dont think i read about whether you mulched ...

anyway ... if somehow or another.. you actually discover you need some soil moisture out there... the easiest way to add water .. would be to throw some ice cubes around... they make light application of a little bit of water predictable ....

this is all from my ground freeze z5 MI ... im sure it changes the warmer the zone ... but i just think messing with hoses or lots of water ... will be more problematic than not enough water ...

bottom line.. they arent children.. dont kill them with too much love ... dig around a bit.. before you do anything .. dont love them to death ...

keep in mind.. its water at the root level.. not the surface ... that might be the key ... to acting accordingly ...

ken

the question is a fair question. one of the few things you can actually control to help ensure your plants survive winter is adequate water going through fall into winter. as a practical matter, keep an eye on precipitation levels...you'll know easily enough if you need to worry about some kind of supplemental watering.

So am I the only person here who watched the Jets-Falcons game at the Meadowlands? Probably. Pouring rain, with the sideline reporter making jokes about how much water was in her impromptu, plastic cup 'rain gauge'. I think at least an inch fell during the game, without counting anything that happened before or after.

Lol.. no rain near me today

More than one issue was brought up here. If the new bed does not drain adequately and the plants were installed with intact potting soil root masses water may drain into these from the surrounding soil during wet conditions and cause problems. Otherwise it seems periods of significant frost penetration, in combination with cold dry winds could be damaging - all the more so because the new planting may not have rooted into the soil outside of the potting soil masses yet. Definitely the planting should be well mulched before much cold sets in.

Also it should be expected that any plants that were poor looking at installation may not establish readily. Or perhaps establish at all, if in sufficiently diminished condition.

Hi Embothrium!

I have 3" depth of mulch around each plant, and 1.5' - 2.5' radius around each.

The skip laurels are actually showing new growth, from the time I planted them

The Prague viburnum... well, one seems ok. The second seems "maybe ok"

These are pictures of the third one. It was pretty rough when planted. I then tried to prune as many dead branches and/or leaves with brown tips as I dared.

The white flower thing looks new to me-- I don't think it was there when I pruned...

I apologize. One of those pics is showing the "good" Viburnum

This one is the "good" Viburnum

They look dry and there seems to be gaps sometimes showing between the pot shapes and the planting site soil. Also the mulch looks on the scant side and the areas with mulch and without grass should be like 3 ft. across. In addition to them doing better it would be easier to mow if there was a continuous bed or strip of shrub planting, without grass between them. They also look like they could stand to be fertilized (see at page referred to below). If they have been sitting around in pots for months without being fertilized this is all the more likely.

For the benefit of 50 years of professional experience in the subject area click on Establishment of Container Grown Plants in the right hand column.

https://rootmaker.com/knowledge-center

I've been using this miracle of modern science to check moisture levels on all the stuff I planted this year.

Also useful for determining if soil is frozen. Not so good for untangling girdling roots(that's how mine got bent).