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Old 06-11-2015, 08:04 PM
 
Location: Florida
2,026 posts, read 2,760,180 times
Reputation: 1382

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I just bought some trees in containers. Also planning on buying and planting smaller plants.
So, on the internet I could not find out how much watering they need. How much they need right after planting, after few months and years... In how much some websites specify "moderate watering", which is useless. How many gallons at once, how often? One website specified this for every tree type: "15-20gal every week for first 2 year, 15-20gal twice a month for year-3, as needed later". The problem with this, is I don't know which year my trees are. Is it years after seedling or years after planting?
Actually I ordered a drip irrigation kit, with a timer, so I can dispense water every week, or a little amount every day.

So, I have these now (arrived today):
-24in box pyrus kawakamii, 14ft tall, 5ft wide
-15gal arbutus marina
-15gal queen palm
-15gal windmill palm

planning on also planting:
-tomato
-pepper
-rosemary
-raspberry
-passion fruit
-small shrubs
-hedges
-flowers

Last edited by buenos; 06-11-2015 at 08:13 PM..
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Old 06-11-2015, 08:18 PM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,331 posts, read 80,658,912 times
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I gardened in Castro Valley for 15 years, if your climate is similar, the flowers and vegetables were fine being watered every 3-5 days, depending on the temperature outside. More when 85+, less when cooler. Just leave it on each plant long enough to get deep so the roots go down. If you water too little too often (a little a day) the roots stay close to the surface and can get burned. For the trees/shrubs 1-2 times a week will do, if you give each about 5 gallons. So with 2 gallon/hour drip emitters, that would be 2-1/2 hours. Your biggest problem is that you have to tailor the drip system to the plants, or have different timers, one for the trees and shrubs, another for the vegetables and flowers. Growing in containers can be a problem when it gets to 90+, if they are thin plastic and the sun is beating down on them. Ceramic or wood is better, and always mulch on top of the soil around the plants to help retain the moisture.

I like to water early morning, at a time when I can see it running before I leave for work to catch any clogged emitters or other problems.
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Old 06-17-2015, 10:54 PM
 
Location: Florida
2,026 posts, read 2,760,180 times
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It looks like my new trees are dying. After delivery they looked OK, 2 days later I planted some of them. Another 4 days later both the ground-planted and the one left in the pot look sick/dry. I watered them 3x in 6 days, each time a little pond remained for like 1-2 minutes. I have 1-2in of mulch around them. The local weather: 85F during the day, no clouds on the sky at all.
Do these trees need more water right after planting them, than they would need months after planting?
I mean transplanting a 24in box tree that is already kind of established.
3x a week: is it too much or not enough?
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Old 06-18-2015, 11:30 AM
 
Location: Florida
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This is how the leaves look like.
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Old 06-18-2015, 06:59 PM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic
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I'd guess over watering, but I'm not an expert.

Taking care of plants is a bit like taking care of an infant. They let you know when something is wrong, but they can't tell you what it is.
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Old 06-18-2015, 07:16 PM
 
1,727 posts, read 1,980,464 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by buenos View Post
It looks like my new trees are dying. After delivery they looked OK, 2 days later I planted some of them. Another 4 days later both the ground-planted and the one left in the pot look sick/dry. I watered them 3x in 6 days, each time a little pond remained for like 1-2 minutes. I have 1-2in of mulch around them. The local weather: 85F during the day, no clouds on the sky at all.
Do these trees need more water right after planting them, than they would need months after planting?
I mean transplanting a 24in box tree that is already kind of established.
3x a week: is it too much or not enough?
plants and trees can get "shock" after transplanting, and can lose some leaves, especially if it was in direct sun after the transplant. Did you break up the root ball when you transplanted it?

how often to water depends on a couple of factors including the type of soil you are using, the type of pot (clay or plastic), sun, humidity, and weather (warm, cool, sunny,cloudy)

generally I like to move up 2 pot sizes when I transplant, break up the root ball, use good quality potting soil, and a clay pot. In a sunny warm spot I would probably thoroughly water a 14" pot every 3 days, more if it is hot (90's) and sunny, less if it is cool and cloudy.

You want to drench thoroughly when watering, especially if the soil is dry because it will take awhile for the soil to absorb the water. Don't just get a hose sprayer and blast away at the plant, take the hose and turn the pressure down and set the hose right in the pot so it can get to the soil (as opposed to just wetting the foliage). Because such watering 2-3 times a week drains out nutrients I also fertilize every 2 weeks.

It will take time for your trees to adjust to the transplant.
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Old 06-18-2015, 07:22 PM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,331 posts, read 80,658,912 times
Reputation: 57341
Yes, they need more water the first summer or two. Normally I would suggest an earlier time of year to do it but have been successful any time of year when planting in the evening when it's cooler. At 85 I would be watering daily, but if those were shipped to you, they may have been cooked in transit if it was by truck from another state.
If it was just a local nursery, the trip shouldn't have hurt them. The only way every 3 days is too much water would be if you have very poorly draining hard clay soil.
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Old 06-18-2015, 07:43 PM
 
Location: north bama
3,495 posts, read 745,497 times
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i guess with you living in california you dont have a fall and winter season .. in north bama i have planted about 40 trees on my property and have done them all in the fall after they shed their leaves .. one does`nt want to plant while the tree is in its growing mode ...
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Old 06-18-2015, 11:55 PM
 
Location: Florida
2,026 posts, read 2,760,180 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by twelvepaw View Post
plants and trees can get "shock" after transplanting, and can lose some leaves, especially if it was in direct sun after the transplant. Did you break up the root ball when you transplanted it?

how often to water depends on a couple of factors including the type of soil you are using, the type of pot (clay or plastic), sun, humidity, and weather (warm, cool, sunny,cloudy)

generally I like to move up 2 pot sizes when I transplant, break up the root ball, use good quality potting soil, and a clay pot. In a sunny warm spot I would probably thoroughly water a 14" pot every 3 days, more if it is hot (90's) and sunny, less if it is cool and cloudy.

You want to drench thoroughly when watering, especially if the soil is dry because it will take awhile for the soil to absorb the water. Don't just get a hose sprayer and blast away at the plant, take the hose and turn the pressure down and set the hose right in the pot so it can get to the soil (as opposed to just wetting the foliage). Because such watering 2-3 times a week drains out nutrients I also fertilize every 2 weeks.

It will take time for your trees to adjust to the transplant.
They are in direct sun. the one in the ground is in the middle of the backyard, it supposed to grow into a big shade tree. I mean it should provide shade to me, not the other way around. The other one remained in the 15gal nursery pot, and i put it on my patio next to the wall. under the big tree in the groun, i moved the mulch away at a spot and the soil seemed muddy. My soil has clay in patches. I also planted a 15gal queen palm, 35ft from the other one, and the soil at that one seemed dryer under the mulch. Test was conducted one day after watering both.
I am setting up drip irrigation. Actually it was supposed to be done today, but i realized that i only got 1gph emitters in the kit. Tomorrow i am buying some 10gph emitters, have 2 for the ground-tree and one for the potted one. then i would set up 15min every 2 days.
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Old 06-19-2015, 09:23 PM
 
Location: Florida
2,026 posts, read 2,760,180 times
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I have noticed 3 things today.
1. under the mulch there are lots of white fleas: https://youtu.be/3aQwxUJ2B5s
2. the trees might get 2x more hours of sun a day than in the nursery, and are more on the open. In the nursery they were next to each other.
3. it was 2 days ago that i watered the tree last time, and the soild is soft, black and damp around 5 inches deep (i only dug 5").

What can I do about either of these things above?
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