Watering Estimates for Trees

[SLOBuds]

How can I find a way to estimate the watering needs of my trees?

I planted saplings 3 years ago and now many of them are upwards of 10-12' tall. Some trunks as large as 2". My watering now is guess work and I'd like to know that at least I am somewhat close to what they need.

Is there a calculation I can make based on species, size and climate data? Is there research data I should look at?

I will not be able to purchase expensive equipment which needs to be monitored on a regular basis.

[Nat]

If I had planted them 3 years ago i wouldn't water them at all. I can't say that for other climates but here they grow wild to some amazing sizes without any watering except what nature provides. I planted some trees at the last house and watered them the first summer because it was a severe dry spell, but discontinued the next summer and it was nearly as dry. They made it fine and have been there for 7 years now and some of them are close to 30 ft tall and 4" caliper. HTH, Nat

[Pat]

Martin, I either forgot or never knew where you are so don't kow your climate. Lowes and other outlets sell deep watering devices that you drive into the ground and hook to a hose. No water lost to runoff or evaporation (except what comes to top as soil moisture and of course the transevaporation of the tree.) I have friends using them very successfully. They only got 3 and move then from tree to tree.

I have been watering a pecan tree with a timer and am getting ready to run a lap or two of the soaker hoses made of recycled tires around the drip line of the canopy. I will cover the hoses to reduce evaporative losses, geotextile, mulch or both (unless I get a better recommendation or idea,) I will still run this from a programable timer controlling a hose bib outlet. A fair size tree in low RH and high temps with a breeze can give out prodigious quantities of water in a day. I will water till I get runoff and then cut back the dose till I don't. I expect to water at least once a week. Not sure of volumes involved.

Pat

[SLOBuds]

Well, it's a long story and we made a lot of mistakes.

I live in central California. My first set of saplings were bought mailorder, me being attracted to the price more than giving close scrutiny to species and application. Not saying that I completely ignored those things. It's just that I bought trees from the east coast and tried to grow them on the west coast.

So anyway, with drip systems and constant inspection sapling by sapling, most any tree will take flight.

250 saplings and 2 years later I learned the errors of my way. I started to plant California Natives which grew with zero percent mortality, almost no maintenance, dramatically less water (if any water at all), and health/general appearance to die for.

So now I'd like to force feed the non-natives which look OK in their own right, but with relatively high maintenance.

My technique is deep irrigation occuring with longer time between watering. Probably within the next couple of years I will cut off all water and let them fly on their own.

My cross-post over at Forrestry Forum got a couple of folks telling me that no water is the best way to go. Unfortunately, most people who like to grow lots of trees don't live in a semi-airid desert. Summer temps are in the 90s, 100s and even in the teens. VERY dry.

Later this afternoon I found an irrigation calculation for fruit trees. It would be nice to find the same for shade trees.

The trees are on drip, and we have plenty of wood chips to help retain moisture. It's just the water volume that I'd like to know.

Thanks,
Martin

[Pat]

SLOBUDS, I sited our house based on multiple ponds/pond views in back yard and only one nice tree (pecan) to be close to the house (others like pin oak etc. are 100 ft or farther away)

We built a retaining wall about 10 ft high tapering to about 6-7 ft in an "L" shape to retain natural grade around this one pecan tree. The other side of the retaining wall is excavated to permit a walk out basement on a site that had only a slight slope down toward the back. There was significant subsurface water from about the 5 to 10 ft depth atop a subsurface strata of rock with a slight tilt letting the water slowly flow down hill.

As I dug a trench the full length of the house on the up hill side and installed a french drain plus the twin redundant French drains at the basement foundation, I had severed the water flow to that tree. Now it only gets what water falls on it naturally and the total size of that space is only about twice the area shaded at noon. As we are currently experiencing a drought as bad as any in the last 100 yrs (Dust Bowl included) I feel that I have to supplement the tree's water supply. To that end I started watering it 2-3 months ago.

I think a loop or two of the soaker hoses around the drip line used for deep soakings about every week should do the trick.

I donated to Arbor Day Foundation and got their little bare root seedlings. Luckily they select species for your area so they have a small chance. I have them planted behind the basement and we water them. I expected maybe 2-3 out of 10 to survive but 7 are making it. In another year or two I'll transplant them and hopefully most will survive. I have flowering dogwood, red bud and otheres hardy in our area. After transplanting I expect to put a drum next to them with a small hole. I can take water to the drum and it will drip on the ground for 1-3 days depending on the size of the "leak." I hope to only have to fill the drums once a week except if we get a decent rain and then I can skip.

Who knows, maybe I could use a long garden hose as a syphon running from the highest of the three ponds in the backyard to deliver water to a lower elevation and not be trucking water.

I do have a nice specimen plant grouping a foot or so from the basement patio slab. It is a cluster of cat tails. Seems there is an area there that even in this drought of near Biblical proportions, remains damp all the time. It is water seeping out of the hillside down hill dron the french drains of the basement. I will construct a nice "freeform" concrete form around it so when I extend the paved patio beyond its current dimension (10'6" and is exactly coverd by porch slab above) I will get a kidney or whatever shaped "planter" or "flower" bed to contain the cat tails and horse tail ferns. I think it will be interesting to have a miniature wetland within the paved patio. At least I shouldn't have to water it. Who knows, in a wet year I might have to arrange a drain for it.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]