Glad @ssayet was able to get his yard re-piped the correct way…too bad he ended up having to pay out of pocket to do so.
After the new zones were added we went back in and ran the calculations from @azdavidr famous drip calculator sheet and plugged the figures into the “nozzle inches per hour” field of each zone. I have set the root depth very shallow since this is all recent planting within a couple months. I’m happy with the frequency but I’m wanting @ssayet to watch closely to see if things are looking stressed or over-watered. It is watering the bushes every couple days for 2 hours, so it will put down 4 gallons (1 2gph emitter) of water to each bush, while the “biggest” bushes will get 8 gallons (2 2gph emitters).
We also set the tree root depth pretty shallow (15") in order to get the frequency bumped up. The trees are currently watering every 4-5 days for 2h10m, so each tree will receive right at 16 gallons of water, and the multi trunk Pygmy’s will get 12 gallons (debating on having him plug one emitter here. Any thoughts?).
@tmcgahey – as a special thanks from the Rachio Team, we’d like to make you a Power User for all of the help you provided @ssayet. Thank you!
I think the changes made to the system (separating the hydro zones) and current zone configurations are the best they could be for the landscape at it’s current maturity and time of year. How are the plants looking?
I just read through these posts and I was truly incredible to see how helpful @tmcgahey, @azdavidr and @sunny were. The Power User rating for @tmcgahey is well deserved and I commend the Rachio team @emil for taking notice.
I’m in the process of having landscaping put in and their design also has everything on one line. When I questioned this during the proposal phase they just said that they adjust for having one line by varying the quantity and flow rate of the drip heads based on the type of plant/shrub/tree. Not knowing any better I went along with it, but never truly feeling comfortable with the answer they gave.
I came across this post because I have the Gen 2 system (not installed yet) and was into the Gen 3 system.
Getting to my question, what setup would you recommend I go back to the landscaper with for the following plants that have just been put into the ground (no irrigation has been installed yet). Also, I’m in the north Phoenix area (Desert Ridge)
@rchuro, without going into too much detail while typing on my phone, a single line for all plants can sorta, kinda, maybe, possibly work, but not well, and chances are you will lose a number of plants in the heat of the sunmer.
By a quick glance at your list, you already have a huge disparity in watering strategy with your plants. Citrus likes long deep waterings, but infrequent. Your bushes and palms like to have a more shallow watering more frequently. I will add that Hibiscus are tough here regardless. They stress badly in the summer, and are VERY prone to freezing, but if you are good about covering, they do look awesome!
Before you go and take my recommendation as gold…I’d like to hear from @sunny@azdavidr or others. The palms are a gray area for me. All my palms were put on my tree zones by the previous owner, and I feel that my system was done very well, but I’d like to hear other opinions!
Agreed @tmcgahey and @azdavidr. It would be optimal to have the palms on a tree zone to receive deep watering.
Additional note–since these are newly planted and we are coming up on some hot weather, the palms may need additional (maybe daily watering depending on the soil type and weather) for a couple of weeks. @rchuro, don’t keep them too wet. Let them dry slightly between watering. Moist, but not soggy.
Yea, I have two left (there were 4), but they get shade most of the day, so they are doing ok. My biggest issue with them is winter time and them freezing, which is how I lost the two. I have too big a yard and too many plants to go out and cover at night. Survival of the fittest in my yard!
Regarding the hibiscus, they will be in the shade, so hopefully will survive the summer and my yard is small enough that I should be able to cover them in winter…or take @tmcgahey 's Darwinian approach
