YARD CARE FOR MY PLANTS
A CHECKLIST FOR MYSELF

tba, in process

Gardener:  Please make sure this is followed or let me know why not.  Thank you!







































WATER

Water deeply and infrequently: Fewer times/week and deeper so roots grow deeper.

Amount

Use local nursery to help identify how much a plant needs per week.  Adjust the size of the dripper to the waterflow level.
Water Most Plants When Soil Dries Out
Index:  See bewaterwise.com for now, for S. Cal.
    Nov.4:  50%
See box for Under And Over Watering.

How long:  An hour, every other day

When: Morning

Better to water a lawn deeply once a week than to give it shorter periods of water more frequently. Morning is also the best time of day to water your lawn.  Read more: ehow.com
Using overhead sprinklers on lawns and to let them run until they deliver 1 inch of water. Set a coffee can on your lawn where it will fill with your sprinkler water to see how long it takes to deliver 1 inch of water.



NEW PLANTS, TO ESTABLISH

Unless the weather is overcast and rainy, I water newly planted plants daily for two or three days after planting, then every other day for the next week or so. Depending on the weather, I will continue to water every few days to every week for the next several weeks.


WHAT TO PLANT

Google for your area
TRIMMING

Bushes go clear to the ground; do not cut so it is like a tree (with space between the ground and the foliage) 

Cut similar plants next to each other the same height.  If one grows too fast or too slow, adjust the watering.
TYPE OF SOIL:  ____

pH of the soil: ____
Treat with      to make it more suitable.

ZONE:  9b
UNDER OR OVER WATERING

How to tell if plants are not getting enough water

bend the branch and if flexible and not break off, and some green inside, then getting enough water - if not growing, fertilize it better.
Look droopy or wilted? (Worsens to brown, leaves get soft and squiShy.)
yellowing leaves or dried leaves toward the bottom of the plant
Fallen blossoms.
Abnoral spots on leaves (white or brown.
Is soil around it visibly cracked
start showing some root at the surface
put your finger in the soil, up to your knuckle. If the soil is moist, it has enough water; if it is dry, you need to water the plant.
A plant with less water will dwarf.

Overwatering

Signs of overwatering are similar to underwatering.  Plants need to breathe, through their roots.
If soil feels damp, don't water until soil surface is dry. 
Integrate notes into the above.

Plants have a watering rating, which may be different.
The nozzles put out water on a basis of gallons per hour.
Of course, if you allow for deeper watering, which is what is recommended, you would do it every other day.

During the winter, once it starts raining you can turn off the water and start it again when it stops raining. 

Lawn - best to have a slower, but adequately covering, nozzle, so it can go deeper, watering it a bit more time. 

Watering systems have a water pressure.  If it is 300 gph

At 1/2 gallon per hour flow rate, the system will use 12 gallons of water in 24 hours.
A half gallon of water will water 1 inch into the soil in a 1 square foot area.

Calculating gph is carried out by measuring the amount of water used to fill a bucket within 30 seconds from the water supply.  The level of water is then converted to decimals and divided by 60 minutes. The total of this calculation is then multiplied by the amount of water collected and that total is multiplied by 60 minutes. The sum of these calculations gives the total gph used by the specific drip irrigation system.




Set up emitters with 1 gph rating for shrubs and smaller trees.  Reserve the higher gph emitters for larger trees or water-hungry vegetation.

Water requirements vary depending on the plant and its age. Keep plants with similar water needs grouped together, creating a zone; this allows adequate water use for the plants in that zone as well as adjustments in water use as the plants in the zone age.

High and low pressure emitters cannot be combined within a zone. Emitters with the same gph can be added or subtracted from the zone as water requirements change

Read more: Water Usage by Drip Irrigation Systems | Garden Guides http://www.gardenguides.com/131097-water-usage-drip-irrigation-systems.html#ixzz2j9L5iTwg

Once a drip irrigation system is in place, little maintenance is required besides annual flushing. However, when a problem occurs, finding leaks can be difficult if the piping is underground, or if the hole is tiny. Repairing, once the drip is found, is as simple as changing out hoses.

Read more: How to Repair Drip Irrigation Systems | Garden Guides http://www.gardenguides.com/106072-repair-drip-irrigation-systems.html#ixzz2j9LzKbfq

FERTILIZER

How to choose the right fertilizer

Apply late fall and early spring. Stop all fertilizing of your flowering plants when you see the buds of blossoms begin to develop.

Apply one final application of fertilizer to your flowering landscape plants after the plant has finished blooming, usually in the late fall.


WATERING OF TREES

A "watering ring" will provide more water.  Note that if roots are above ground there is insuffient watering.  Water deep but not frequently.