Need watering tips zone 9 Florida

Greetings folks, name is Steve and I just joined from Sarasota Fl, on the coast between Tampa and Fort Myers.

I don't know much about plants. I recently got the bug to work on the front of my house. I installed a drip/micro irrigation system and a few plants. But I don't know exactly how much water, and how much time to use the drip system for. I can adjust flow at the individual heads, and I can set up to 5 watering times per day, from one to 7 days a week. It also has a cycle timer which I didn't use because it confused me, but I digress. My plants seem to be establishing, and are doing nicely. On the system right now I have a line of Umbrella plants, Schefflera Trinette I believe. These are planted in full Sun for most of the day. I also have two window boxes with cheap annuals planted in them, also full Sun. I have a Begonia hanging in the shade, and 2 Hibiscus in Full Sun.

Whew. Anyway, I'm looking for direct advice on how much to water them, or tips on how to determine that for myself. As in, should these plants be drip fed for hours? Or should I run higher flow heads for shorter periods? Any help and input is appreciated.

Hi Steve. I think these links may give you the basics. After you have a chance to read them, then you can post any additional questions here. I hope these are of good use to you.

http://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/giam/maintenance_and_care/watering_and_irrigation/drip_irr.html

http://www.lesslawn.com/articles/article1062.html

http://www.pa.msu.edu/sciencet/ask_st/092194.html

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/when-to-water-plants.htm

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-much-water-do-your-potted-plants-need.html

http://www.snwa.com/land/irrig_driptips.html

http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/lwm/recycle/pubs/sg_part3.pdf

http://www.digcorp.com/DIY/209-_Frequently_Asked_Questions/qas

Thanks!

You are most welcome.

The secret to drip is that it applies the water VERY SLOWLY.
You must run it for A LONG TIME. Like many hours.

Here is a test:
Put a pan or bucket under one emitter. Run the system for as long as you think is right.

Now take that bucket of water to an area you can dig up.
Pour the water onto the soil, then let it soak in for half an hour to an hour. You might have to dig a shallow pit to hold the water in place until it soaks in. Do not leave any loose dirt in the pit.
Now go dig it up.
How far did the water go?
In sandy soils it might go quite far. In heavier soils it will not soak in very deep.

Now for the hundred thousand dollar question: How long do you have to run the system to apply enough water enough to thoroughly soak the root zone of your plants?
You are the only one who can answer this question.
How many emitters do you have spaced around a small plant? A medium sized plant? A large plant?
If the small plant needs the water to soak in a foot deep, and your test only ran enough water to wet the soil 3" deep, then how long to run the system? Will the large plant, that needs the water 18" deep, or 24" deep get enough water?

This is where the repeat cycles come in handy for some people. Not usually drip systems, but conventional spray systems:
Lets say their sprinklers need to run for 20 minutes to apply enough water. But the water puddles and runs off after 10 minutes.
By setting the clock to turn off the irrigation after only 10 minutes, then come on again an hour or two later the water soaks in much deeper with less run off.
But, as I say, this is not used for drip, because the water is already being applied slow enough. You just have to run it a long time.

Another problem with some water and drip systems:

Water that is high in minerals tend to clog drip equipment.
The water is running so slowly that some of it evaporates right there at the emitter.
When water evaporates it leaves the minerals behind. And these minerals will clog the emitters.
Here is a test: Do you have white crusty gunk on the sinks and faucets in the house? Do you need to keep after the plumbing to keep these deposits away? If so, give up on the drip system. It will not work for very long. Go back to a conventional spray system. With the larger pipe, and larger holes in the nozzles they will hold out a lot longer against mineral build up. There are several tricks to running a conventional system that can make it almost as water efficient as a drip system, especially when you factor in having to replace a larger % of the drip system each year because of mineral build up.

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Here are some sample times that we run drip irrigation. I am in zone 9b. It can get really hot in the summer (80s are common, 100*F happens several days at a time several times in the summer) Never rains in the summer, so no water from that source. Humidity is quite low, so the soil and plants evaporate and transpire a lot of water. Most of the landscapes are done in heavy clay soils. All are mulched with ground redwood (Sort of like 'Gorilla Hair' but nicer looking)

We use a product called Tech Line, by Netafim. It has holes 12" apart and drips at the rate of .92 gallons per hour. 1 gallon plants usually have 2 emitters. 5 gallon plants usually have 3 emitters.

When we plant in the summer...
New plants from 1 gallon cans and 5 gallon cans: Run the drip system for 2 hours daily for the first month.
Test after the first several days to make sure they are getting enough water. Increase the time to 3 hours if needed.
After the first month the plants ought to be getting their roots out into the soil.
Change the frequency to every other day and up the time to 4 hours. Maybe able to shift the frequency to twice a week, but that is risky with the plants so recently planted. Roots have not spread deep or wide enough yet. If the client really understands irrigation, and is in one of the milder communities we might do that, with instructions to run a manual cycle if the temperature gets over 80*F.
When the weather starts to cool off (about end of September) back off on the frequency to about twice a week, but keep the time at 4 hours.
If normal winter rains happen, then turn off the system. This past winter was WAY too dry, so run the system once a month for 8 hours.

When we plant in the fall, and normal winter rains come on schedule:
Every other day for 2-3 hours until the rains start, then turn off the system.

The next spring and into the summer increase the timing according to the weather: Renew the mulch.
Once a week or every other week for 4-6 hours, (mild, cloudy, occasional rain)
moving up to twice a week for 4 hours or more as the days warm and the sun is more consistent.

Shade plants often need more frequent, shallow water, so 2-4 times per week, for 3-4 hours.
Sun plants often need deep soaking, but less frequent, so 1-2 times per week, for 4-6 hours.

Here is my own schedule. I am using a conventional (PVC) irrigation system.
Mature trees: (Bubblers in several spots around each tree) Once a month April (if no rain), May, June, July, August, September, October (if no rain). Run it overnight (8-12 hours).
Vegetable garden with seeds and seedlings: (Spray heads) Daily 15 minutes if the weather is over 70*, every other day if milder, cloudy or higher humidity. ( I ran it twice a day when the weather hit 100* last week)
New trees and bushes planted from bare root a few months ago: (Spray heads) Once a week for half an hour.

Thank you for the detailed response Diana. Sorry for the delay, we were off on a vacation.