Deep Watering Advise

[user 6919]

Hi,

I live in San Diego, CA. I have 5 liquidambar trees, 2 jacaranda trees, and 1 Schefflera tree. Last summer, on the advise of an Arborist, I deep watered my trees in the hot months. I did this by putting a hose in one spot at barely a trickle for an hour on just the liquidambars. They seemed to really like this and flourished. This year I plan to add the other trees too. I had the idea that if I bought a soaker hose and dripped the water around the whole circle that this would better distribute the moisture. With the same trickle it barely comes out, so I turned it on slightly more than a trickle and reduced the time to 30 minutes. Is my logic sound?

Thank you, Christina

 

[Raintree]

What soil type are the trees planted in & what size are they?

 

[user 6919]

Our soil is naturally clay-like, but the soil to at least 5' deep was replaced with good soil by a professional (a little less for the smaller trees). I couldn't tell you what kind they used, probably whatever the nursery recommended. The big ones are maybe 15-20' high. The jacarandas and one of the liquidambars are skinny and only 5'. (two of the liquidambars started from a sprout of the others and I liked them and let them grow) Does that help?

 

[user 6919]

anyone?

 

[beastmaster]

Soaker hose should work fine. Whats important is watching out not to exceed the soils capacity to absorb the water. If the water is pooling or running off you going to fast. Smaller trees(younger) need more frequent waterings. Mature trees with good root systems only need to be deep watered a few times in the summer. Don't deep water live Oaks in the summer though.
What could be a problem is the fact the soil was altered. Especially a heavy clay under a less porous soil. The clay soil holds more water longer and can act like a sponge to the soil above it. It's not recommended to amends soils to much for trees as it causes more problems then benefits.

 

[user 6919]

Thank you for your comment, that helps a lot. I'll cut back a bit on the larger trees.

 

[Raintree]

I'm not a fan of soaker hose for new trees. Like to know how much water is being applied, (5gal/wk etc.) Also the weekly wet/dry cycle is more beneficial than continuous wet.