New flamethrower about to pop - watering question

[Breaktheory]

Hi palm lovers

i just planted this flamethrower in a spot that will get it the filtered light i hope will suit it…unfortunately it’s a bit up on a hill and it’s difficult to water without a well - how much water do these guys actually need both first week after planting as well as going into winter?

thanks all!

jon

 

 

[DoomsDave]

They’re not swamp things on the one hand, but they appreciate regular water. 
 

Try to give it a good drink once a week to start. If your soil is sandy or fast draining I’d stick to that. 
 

If your soil is clay, every couple weeks will do, but more water is better.

I’ve got 20+ in the ground, so I know.

[Breaktheory]

34 minutes ago, DoomsDave said:

They’re not swamp things on the one hand, but they appreciate regular water. 
 

Try to give it a good drink once a week to start. If your soil is sandy or fast draining I’d stick to that. 
 

If your soil is clay, every couple weeks will do, but more water is better.

I’ve got 20+ in the ground, so I know.

Yes I’ve seen them  so it turns out my entire backyard is sand with a layer of whatever soil mixture was used to fill in my giant planter. 

[byuind]

Mine love water. They are getting 30 gallons per week on drip and seem to thrive

[96720]

I’m in Phoenix so I give mine lots of water mine are also on a hillside but if you have drippers it shouldn’t be a problem!!

[Matt in OC]

4 hours ago, byuind said:

Mine love water. They are getting 30 gallons per week on drip and seem to thrive

30 gallons a week? 😳

[byuind]

6 hours ago, Matt in OC said:

30 gallons a week? 😳

Oh yeah…. 3 ten gallon per hour drippers. My soil is mostly sand so it doesn’t stay saturated very long, especially with the heat

My voodoo science says that the three times per week the get water ( 20 minute runs, 3 days per week) give them the amount of water necessary to hit their needs. Any other water would run down to the water table, or get soaked up by the roots of the other plants in the immediate vicinity.

My watermelon is blasting a new leaf every 85 days this year which seems to be above average. I credit the water. Come late November I’ll probably cut the water back to twice per week

[Tracy]

2 hours ago, byuind said:

Oh yeah…. 3 ten gallon per hour drippers. My soil is mostly sand so it doesn’t stay saturated very long, especially with the heat

My voodoo science says that the three times per week the get water ( 20 minute runs, 3 days per week) give them the amount of water necessary to hit their needs. Any other water would run down to the water table, or get soaked up by the roots of the other plants in the immediate vicinity.

My watermelon is blasting a new leaf every 85 days this year which seems to be above average. I credit the water. Come late November I’ll probably cut the water back to twice per week

I haven't needed to shop for emitters recently but recall having choices between. 5, 1 and 2 gpm emitters.  Is a 10 gpm emitters even considered to be drip?  That is a substantial flow.

Mine have 3 to 4 emitters, run time 40 minutes,2 times per week in sandy soil, or 20 minutes, 3 times per week in clay during summer. 

[byuind]

https://store.rainbird.com/pc101032-pressure-compensating-module-10-32-thread-inlet-10-0-gph-green.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=RainBirdPLA&utm_term={keyword}&gclid=CjwKCAjw38SoBhB6EiwA8EQVLgDai1vWp3Puw-H5OiSik_5l2ydwcdjyTQKPPTqdpOLwhnX7IVEAbxoCF54QAvD_BwE
 

i use diffuser caps on these. They do have more flow then the small 2 gal ones for sure but it seems to work well with my shell media. The emitters sit above the shells slightly so the water distribution is significantly slowed by the shells acting as a secondary diffusion device. Soil stays moist for about 6-8 hours

i thought about doing like 10-15 2 gallon emitters but the cost and workload of setting that up just didnt appeal to me

[sonoranfans]

36 minutes ago, Tracy said:

I haven't needed to shop for emitters recently but recall having choices between. 5, 1 and 2 gpm emitters.  Is a 10 gpm emitters even considered to be drip?  That is a substantial flow.

Mine have 3 to 4 emitters, run time 40 minutes,2 times per week in sandy soil, or 20 minutes, 3 times per week in clay during summer. 

I think there are 10gph bubblers and definitelky micro sprayers.  In high drainage soil with relatively high humidty the microsprayers are superior in wetting capability.  High drainage soil gives a narrow plume as gravity effects overwhelm capillary action (sideways).  Microsprayers solve this high gravity vs capillary action effects of course.  IN drier areas with clay in the soil, microsprayers dont make much sense, as they emit a wide spray that is readily evaporated and capillary action in clay is much stronger vs gravity effects.  The locals there will know, as a floridian I can tell you what my chambys want, but Im not sure that will be a good regimen for LA area.

[Merlyn]

I had a couple out in full sun, they had a single 1gph dripper running 40 minutes per day = 0.67 gallons.  The ones in full shade have a single 0.5gph running for 40 minutes per day = 0.33 gallons.  And in filtered sun in my nursery area is a triple that's about 6 feet tall.  It has a 180 degree fan sprayer-on-a-stick MSH2PKS on full blast in the general vicinity.  That's 0-29 gallons per hour for 40 minutes = 19 gallons per day?  It waters a bunch of pots and two tall queens, so clearly the triple flamethrower isn't getting all of that.  But all three watering regimens work well here.  The ones in full sun died from upper 20s + frost, but were growing great until then.  The soil in all areas is pretty pure sand below the top couple of inches of mulch and debris.

[Breaktheory]

8 hours ago, Merlyn said:

I had a couple out in full sun, they had a single 1gph dripper running 40 minutes per day = 0.67 gallons.  The ones in full shade have a single 0.5gph running for 40 minutes per day = 0.33 gallons.  And in filtered sun in my nursery area is a triple that's about 6 feet tall.  It has a 180 degree fan sprayer-on-a-stick MSH2PKS on full blast in the general vicinity.  That's 0-29 gallons per hour for 40 minutes = 19 gallons per day?  It waters a bunch of pots and two tall queens, so clearly the triple flamethrower isn't getting all of that.  But all three watering regimens work well here.  The ones in full sun died from upper 20s + frost, but were growing great until then.  The soil in all areas is pretty pure sand below the top couple of inches of mulch and debris.

I’m hoping to get some drip lines installed but have no experience putting them in

[byuind]

11 hours ago, Breaktheory said:

I’m hoping to get some drip lines installed but have no experience putting them in

Super easy. Its not that intimidating once you watch a couple videos. At the risk of aounding terribly bias: when i moved to florida i witnessed so many of the crews installing irrigation systems in my neighborhood. The majority seemed to be younger kids /guys with limited education. Once i saw that, i realized this wasnt rocket science. I used the amazon available 1/2 black tubing and rainbird heads.

[Merlyn]

21 hours ago, Breaktheory said:

I’m hoping to get some drip lines installed but have no experience putting them in

As byuind said, it's very easy.  If you only have one zone you want to set up, you can use one of the hose bib battery-powered timers, a hose bib adaptor kit (about $10) and some 1/2" tubing to run to your locations.  You basically just jab the button emitters into the side of the 1/2" tubing and run a 1/4" line out to where you want it.  I use little plastic stakes to hold the 1/2" and 1/4" lines in place, and toss mulch over the top.  Then terminate the 1/2" with either a cap or the little fold-in-half clips.  Honestly the most difficult part is rolling out the 1/2" tubing, because it loves to snap back into a round ball if you let go at the wrong time!