It is no secret that we are in the middle of a major drought and an historic heat wave. Our landscape plants need water to survive the heat and drought. Here are some things we at Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping suggest to keep your plants and landscapes in good condition this summer.
Trees
Trees add the most value to a landscape of any plant. They take the longest to grow, too. Many trees do not show drought stress until they are already in trouble, so you may not see signs your tree is hurting now. They are definitely stressed between the extreme heat and the drought. Trees use water to cool themselves and will literally cook without an adequate supply of water.
Younger trees that have been planted in the last three years are especially at risk. To prevent that, make sure to water your trees thoroughly. Trees need two to three gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter two to three times a week during their first three years. During a drought, they can survive on one to two inches of water two or three times a week to get them through the summer to the fall.
Established trees should be watered deeply with two to three inches per inch of trunk diameter, especially when they show drought stress. These signs include dropping or wilting leaves, small or malformed leaves, yellowing of the leaves, and browning tips of the leaves. Always water in the morning before ten if possible so they dry out by nightfall. This helps prevent fungus and other diseases.
Foundation
We have clay soil that can become a hard, impervious rock during the summer when there is little rain. Your soil will pull away from your foundation when it shrinks in the heat. When it does rain, the cracks between your soil and your foundation fill up and can cause damage and flooding. To prevent this, water around your foundation during the summer. Running your sprinklers twice a week early in the morning will keep your soil moist and protect your house from problems.
Check Irrigation
Speaking of sprinklers, have you checked to make sure all your sprinkler heads are working properly? A busted head can cause a problem anytime. During a drought, you risk plants dying around a head that no longer emits enough water or even erosion problems from concentrated water flow in a specific area. Most homeowners typically check their sprinkler system in the spring when it is turned on and again in late fall when it is turned off. We suggest adding at least one to three summer checks of your system. Ideally, you would check it once a month to ensure the heads are functioning properly and the program schedule fits the climate conditions. If you can’t do it monthly, then maybe a few times during the hottest and driest seasons will make a big difference to the health of your landscape and turf.
We Can Help
Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping can connect you with irrigation specialists that can come and check your system this summer. They can repair any problems with the system, so you are sure all your plants and your foundation are getting the water they need to survive the summer and the drought. Call us at (816) 825-2524 to get help managing your landscape this summer.
Summers are becoming increasingly hot and that is hard on our plants. This article discusses some ways you can increase your plant’s chances of survival by the way you water them.
Three Ways to Water
There are three ways to water your plants during the summer. Watering is best done between 5 a.m. -10:00 a.m. This allows the leaves of the plant to dry before nightfall, decreasing problems with diseases on your plant.
Hand Watering
Watering by hand with a hose is the best way to water your plants in the summer. You can direct the water right to the root zone of the plant. Watering by hand three times a week during the hot weather is the best way to keep your plants alive. Plants in containers need to be watered once a day. However, if you have a large landscape, watering by hand can be time-consuming.
Drip Irrigation
If you don’t have time to water your plants by hand, installing drip irrigation is the next best thing. The water goes directly to the roots of each plant. There are no splashes to wet the leaves or splash soil on them. You can put your drip irrigation on a timer and forget about it. One problem is that the emitters can get clogged. Since drip irrigation is typically covered with mulch, you may not realize there is a problem until your plants start to wilt, turn yellow or brown, or die.
Pop-Up Sprinklers
Pop-up sprinklers do not clog and may be better if you do not have time to monitor your irrigation system on a regular basis. Pop-up sprinklers do lose some of the water they put out to evaporation. They also get the foliage wet, increasing the possibility that a fungal disease can attack your plant. Watering in the morning so the foliage dries before nightfall will help stop fungal diseases from moving in.
Conserving Water
One only has to look at states to the South and West of us to see what happens when the water runs out. Conserving water not only saves you money but also makes sure you have the water you need in the future.
Irrigation Audits
Irrigation audits are usually done in the spring when your system is set up to run after being drained all winter. However, they can be performed any time the system is in use. There are three parts to an irrigation audit.
Site Inspection –walk your landscape and notice any sunken heads, heads that have been damaged by lawn equipment, or have become misaligned. Replace the bad sprinkler heads and realign them to avoid hardscape areas.
Performance Testing –Run the sprinkler system briefly by zone and mark all the sprinklers. Take small containers and scatter them so that each sprinkler in zone 1 has a container in the area that the sprinkler serves. Run the sprinkler zone 1 for ten minutes. Measure the amount of water each sprinkler put into the containers. If there are sprinkler heads that do not produce the amount of water they should replace them. Repeat for every zone in your landscape.
Irrigation Scheduling –Now that you know how much water your sprinklers put out by zone, you can schedule your sprinkler system for only the length of time those sprinklers need to water the plants in that zone.
Mulch
Putting down at least three inches of mulch around your plants will help them survive the summer. The mulch helps keep the soil cooler. Mulch also absorbs water and gradually releases it, giving your plants the water they need slowly, so it doesn’t just run off or evaporate. Mulch also controls weeds, which steal water, nutrients, and light from your plants.
Native Plants
Native plants evolved to survive in this climate. All plants need to be watered frequently when getting established. However, after the plants get established, the native ones do not need supplemental irrigation for all but the driest years. There are many beautiful annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees you can choose from.
We Can Help
Watering a landscape can be time-consuming. Auditing your irrigation system can also be time-consuming and frustrating if you have to replace several sprinkler heads and figure out the optimal time to water in each zone.
Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping can help you water properly and keep your plants alive this summer. We install both pop-up sprinklers and drip irrigation and can configure them to give just the right amount of water for each plant. We also do irrigation audits on existing systems to keep them delivering water to your landscape, and not your sidewalk. If you are interested in what we can do to water your plants properly and keep them alive this summer, just schedule a consultation today.
Trees and shrubs still need water in the winter, they just don’t need it as often. Not sure how to water your different types of plants now that the irrigation system has been winterized and the water hoses brought in? Read on as we help explain the process.
Deciduous Trees and Shrubs
Deciduous trees and shrubs lose their leaves and go dormant during the winter. They still need water to function but do not need as much water as when they are actively growing. The trees and shrubs can benefit from a good soaking before the weather is consistently below freezing and the soil starts to freeze. Some more southern plants, such as magnolias, crape myrtles, and ajuga ground cover will especially benefit from a few deep soaks before the cold sets in. This makes sure the trees and shrubs have access to water if the soil freezes deeper than their roots grow. This is especially important for young plants as their roots are not as established as older plants. Be sure to check that the mulch is at least 3” thick around the root zone but not burying the trunk of the plant. This will help the moisture to soak in and not evaporate as quickly.
To water these plants, make sure to focus on the root zone all around the tree or shrub and about 3 feet from the trunk. Fill this area with water. Let the water sink into the ground. Repeat 3-5 times, until the water stands instead of sinking in. It is easier to do a group of trees or shrubs at once, so you don’t have to wait for the water to go down in plant one all the time. You can move to plants 2-5 and come back to the first plant after the water has soaked in to continue watering it. Make sure that you unhook the hose from the spigot and bring it in when done so it doesn’t freeze. If hoses stay hooked up too long during freezing temperatures it may cause pipes to burst or even flooding inside the home or basement.
Evergreen Trees and Shrubs
Evergreens continue producing chlorophyll during the winter, so they will need water all winter long. New evergreens will especially need to be watered since their roots are not as established. While snow adds some water, it isn’t enough. Snow has a lot of air in it, so one inch of snow does not melt into one inch of water. Heavy, wet snow that is 4-5 inches deep melts into one inch of water, while powdery, light snow that is ten inches deep may also melt into one inch of water. The consistency of the snow affects the moisture that will ultimately reach the plant’s roots.
It is extremely important to water newly planted evergreens deeply before the temperature stays reliably under freezing in the same way you water your deciduous trees. When there is a break in the weather and it gets above 50F, everyone runs outside to enjoy the sun. Evergreens enjoy the warmth, too, but get especially thirsty on these warm days. Remember to soak your evergreens deeply so they can continue their role as the stars of the landscape in winter. Lack of water can not only cause winter burn, but it can also kill evergreen plants outright. Since evergreens are typically the most expensive plants in the landscape, replacing them could also be costly.
WiltPruf® Your Evergreens
Before the weather starts to freeze, you can apply WiltPruf®. This is a product made from some of the chemicals found in pine pitch that builds a molecular film over the leaves or needle. This film helps stop the loss of water through the evergreen’s water pores. It wears away molecular level by molecular level so should be reapplied every 3-4 months if the weather is still cold. WiltPruf® must be applied when the air temperature is warm enough to keep it from freezing before it reaches the evergreens. It is cured by ultraviolet light, so make sure there are at least 3-4 hours of sunlight left in the day before applying it.
We can care for your trees and shrubs and make sure they have what they need to get to survive the winter. Royal Creations can help deeply water your trees and shrubs to prepare them for the cold. We can also coat the evergreen trees and shrubs with WiltPruf® to help prevent winter burn and other winter problems. The Blue Crew can help with all your garden care needs, including maintaining your ornamental trees and shrubs, all year round with our “Royal Treatment” program. Contact Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping today to schedule a consultation to see what we can do for your landscape.
Every landscape needs some supplemental water during the year. In fact, it is estimated that one third of the water used in urban and suburban settings is used to water the landscape. This amounts to about 9 billion gallons of water a day.
Ways to Water
There are three general ways to water your landscape: by hand, with a movable sprinkler, and with a professionally installed irrigation system. Watering by hand lets you direct the water directly to the root zone in the precise quantity that the plant needs. You do not have a lot of evaporation with this method, so it is very cost-efficient. However, it takes lots of time to water everything in the landscape.
Temporary Sprinklers
Hoses with temporary sprinklers on them are another way to water. There are several types.
Stationary sprinklers These deliver a set pattern of water. They are good for putting water on things such as seeds and sod without washing them away. You do need to move them frequently to avoid overwatering.
Oscillating sprinklers typically have a long tube with holes in it that moves back and forth These are good for tall plants as they can throw water high in the air to reach over them. However, since they do throw water high, a lot of the water evaporates or is blown away in the wind.
Impact sprinklers put a stream of water over a set radius on your plants. Most of them have a way to set the radius of the water from 15 degrees to almost 360 degrees. They move when an arm impacts the water stream, so can be very noisy. The water spray is quite strong and can damage small plants and wash away seeds.
Rotary sprinklers typically spray three or more streams of water from the sprinkler. As the water comes out, it spins the sprinkler in a circle. They can cover a large area but are safe for seeds and small plants.
Tractor or Travelling sprinkler This sprinkler moves over a set pattern as it delivers water. It works well for long, flat, areas with turfgrass. It can’t move in soft soil such as a vegetable garden.
All of these sprinklers require time and attention to make sure they do not overwater an area or leave dry spots. There are timers you can get that will make the water come on at a certain time. Still, if you really want to efficiently water your landscape, there is a better way.
Professionally Installed Irrigation System
A professionally installed irrigation system is the most efficient way to water your landscape. Once it is set up, you only have to set your controller each spring to get it started. In the fall, you drain it and turn off the controller, so it doesn’t try to water during the cold temperatures. There are several parts to an irrigation system. These are:
Shutoff valve This allows you to shut off the water to the irrigation system without having to turn off the water to the rest of the property.
Backflow preventer This keeps water from the irrigation system from backing up and contaminating your house water. Some places require the backflow preventer be inspected yearly by a certified backflow inspector.
Main irrigation line This runs from the main building water to the landscape. It allows the rest of the system to have water to run.
Zone lines Landscape irrigation systems are broken down into zones of plants that have similar water needs. This is because the typical residential water pressure cannot run all the sprinklers at once. It is also because different plants have different watering needs. Lawns need different amounts of water more often than trees. Accordingly, these zones typically divide the lawn and the landscape plants.
Valves When the controller tells the valve to open, it lets the water go down the zone line and run the sprinklers. When the timer expires, the valve shuts off, so the water doesn’t keep running.
Heads These are the actual sprinklers you see. Sprinkler heads are either rotary or spray (mist) based. Rotors are good for watering large areas of grass. Spray heads usually come in fan shapes that put water out 360 degrees, 180 degrees, or 90 degrees. You can get a variety of other heads to place on the spray sprinkler fixtures. One of them is a rotor that has multiple streams of water flowing out in a circular pattern. These rotors are more water efficient than the bigger rotary heads. Both these types of heads come in pop-up versions that go up when the water is running and go down when it stops. This is safer for people playing in landscape and looks better. They also are easier to mow over.
Drip irrigation This is done with tubing with emitters every so often. It fits under the mulch to deliver water right to the plant’s roots. The problem is when new plants are planted. You have to alter the route the tubing follows to water the new plant. Sometimes the emitters become clogged. This leaves dry plants that do not do as well as the other plants around it. Because the emitters are under the mulch, you probably won’t find the clogged emitter until the plant suffers from lack of water.
Controller The controller is the irrigation system’s brain. It tells valves to open or close at the times it is programed to do so. The controller needs access to power, so it is usually put in the basement. Now you can get WaterSense controllers that either have access to the weather forecast or the soil moisture. The weather controller shuts off when it is supposed to rain. The soil-moisture controller measures the soil moisture to decide when to come on. The typical resident saves 7,600 gallons of water a year with the weather controller and 15,000 gallons a year with the soil moisture model. Some utility companies give rebates for installing one of the two WaterSense controllers.
Professionally Installed Irrigation Systems
Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping can design and install an efficient irrigation system. We proudly use Rainbird parts for the system. Our Blue Crew is very well trained and can install your system so it functions perfectly with no dry spots. We also maintain irrigation systems, so you don’t have to worry about winterizing your system or bringing it online for spring. Contact Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping today to schedule a design consultation.
