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psimitry
Joined: 22 Sep 2009 Posts: 75 Location: maricopa
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 9:01 am Post subject: Of Plants and Watering |
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So somehow, I'm never able to strike the right balance between over and underwatering plants. Worse yet, I can't seem to identify which is which (with the exception of my Orange trees which seem to be doing phenomenal at this point).
I planted some new lantana this year to replace those that had either died by the end of last summer (due to me fertilizing - apparently Lantana hate being fertilized..who knew?), and they already look awful. I think they're being overwatered, but at other times they look like they're about dried out (leaves all curled up).
It just makes no sense to me why my neighbor's plants have fully recovered from any and all frost from the winter and are lush, growing, and flowering, while mine are, at best, starting to have new growth and dropping leaves and looking like they're dying at the worst.
So my drip system is on a 40 minute drip once per week during the winter (the length is longer than I'd have liked, but it was to attempt to avoid salt burn), bumped up to twice per week about a month ago when it started to warm up, cut back to once per week now as I thought everything was being overwatered. My lantana, for example, are on one GPH drippers receiving about .6 gallons per week (or 1.2 gallons when they were on the twice weekly setup). Is this all too little? Too much?
Help would be greatly appreciated, my backyard just looks terrible (except for my Lilac Hibiscus which survived the winter better than any plant on my entire lot and is putting out so many flowers I practically have to rake them off my grass). |
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phoenixtropicals Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 1207 Location: Mesa Arizona
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 8:13 pm Post subject: |
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Your watering schedule sounds good to me. The thing to keep in mind with lantana is that the different varieties do better at different times of the year. For example, my purple ones are doing great right now while my radiation and irene varieties look terrible. However, they'll do better when its hot and the purple will start looking bad.
I have some info. on this on the web site.
http://www.phoenixtropicals.com/colorfulFloweringLandscapePlants.html |
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psimitry
Joined: 22 Sep 2009 Posts: 75 Location: maricopa
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 10:57 pm Post subject: |
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Shall I keep it on the once per week schedule until it gets really hot? Or should I take it to twice weekly and go for longer soak times when summer hits? |
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phoenixtropicals Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 1207 Location: Mesa Arizona
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Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 3:06 pm Post subject: |
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Either way will work I think. Lantana are fairly tough. Once it gets over 90°F I usually go to twice a week, but my lantana are on the same line as some other plants that need more water. |
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psimitry
Joined: 22 Sep 2009 Posts: 75 Location: maricopa
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Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 2:00 pm Post subject: |
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Added some pictures, I guess this thread could be considered my annual "Man I'm terrible at Gardening" thread (or at the very least "I have very little idea of what I'm doing" thread).
Planted about a month ago... it hasn't done well (lantana)
(Added at the same time)
Doing...decently, but not great. I expected this particular one to really take off. I've seen this variety grow to six feet high.
One of my hibiscus - coming back, but not NEARLY as strongly as last year:
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phoenixtropicals Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 1207 Location: Mesa Arizona
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 3:35 pm Post subject: |
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I just took a look at mine and they look the same. This is not the optimal time for lantana except for maybe the purple one, but yours are still young and need to grow roots etc. I think the most important thing is not to panic and start overwatering them. That would probably kill them.
Yah, I'm not sure if hibiscus ever totally recover from being frozen back. I've had the same experience. |
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MKIVRYAN
Joined: 07 Dec 2010 Posts: 154 Location: Phoenix/Scottsdale
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Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 7:53 am Post subject: |
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My lantanta are all groing really well right now. They are being water 30 min 2X per week with drip emitters. Hope that helps. |
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psimitry
Joined: 22 Sep 2009 Posts: 75 Location: maricopa
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Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 3:02 pm Post subject: |
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What flow rate are the emitters that you have on them? |
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MKIVRYAN
Joined: 07 Dec 2010 Posts: 154 Location: Phoenix/Scottsdale
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Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 3:05 pm Post subject: |
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I think they are the 4GPH ones. |
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psimitry
Joined: 22 Sep 2009 Posts: 75 Location: maricopa
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 4:06 pm Post subject: |
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4??? Holy carp that sounds high. Maybe I should switch a few of mine over and see what happens, I have 1gph drippers on mine. |
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MKIVRYAN
Joined: 07 Dec 2010 Posts: 154 Location: Phoenix/Scottsdale
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 8:14 pm Post subject: |
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4GPH at 30min or 1GPH at 2 hours = the same |
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GermanStar
Joined: 17 Jun 2010 Posts: 117 Location: Fountain Hills, AZ
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 11:58 pm Post subject: |
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Not really the same. In the long run, you're better off with low flow emitters (iI use mostly .5 and 1 gal) and long duration to gain maximum benefits of deep watering. I water for 90 minutes year round, and vary the frequency as conditions dictate. |
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MKIVRYAN
Joined: 07 Dec 2010 Posts: 154 Location: Phoenix/Scottsdale
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Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2012 6:50 am Post subject: |
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How is it different. As long as the water is not running away your putting the same amount of water on a certain area. |
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GermanStar
Joined: 17 Jun 2010 Posts: 117 Location: Fountain Hills, AZ
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Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2012 8:49 am Post subject: |
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The faster the drip, the greater the tendency toward puddling and runoff. Low flow emitters/long duration generally cover less surface area in exchange for deeper penetration. In general, the longer you water, the deeper the penetration. |
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johnvic21 Guest
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 12:02 am Post subject: Nice gardening tips! |
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I've got so many great ideas for gardening through this forum. This makes me feel good. Such a nice thread. |
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