Hot, hot, hot....and watering...

What are ya'lls thoughts on when to water esp. when this hot? I changed to evenings thinking they'd get more and less would evaporate in the heat. What has worked best for ya'll?

Water early in the morning.
Midday brings burn
Evening breeds molds and fungi
A good gardener rule is:
'Never put the baby to bed with a wet diaper'
I like to water before 9 am
6 am when its this dang hot sheesh!! ;^)

oopss...bad me!!! Ok...guess I gotta get up earlier!! Thanks, Michael

Water in the morning this will keep the roots nice and kool...
Watering at night is ok for a few times but too much and you will promote fungus..
Water evp is all part of the natural process now consider this..
You need to look up your weather conditions because when the humidity and temp are in a certain range water evp does not occur so much this is why so many peeps get heat stroke..
When watering in the morning try not to get the leaves wet only a fine mist will do on her leaves so concentrate the H2o on the roots this will also prevent leaf burns aka brown spots..

Lol talk about posting at the same time hehehe...
...yeah what mike said and that other guy lopaka :)

You guys are great....thank you so much...luckily I only did the night watering once...tonight. Not wanting to be dealing with fungus....fungus knats were bad enough through the winter - INside....grrr!!!

How's that cacti doing Michael? (yeah, I know...wrong forum...but since you're "here"...LOL)

The cacti are doing quite well generally speaking.
Some of the burned ones succumbed to rot.
The CoT you sent me is fabulous, I love her to crazy,
CoT always a fav for me. Red is da bomb!!
Many of the barrel types are doing just awesome too.
I have a box of stepeliads enroute from a generous member who D-mailed me.
Ill letcha know how many came, I may send some your way with a few plumie cuttings too.
Ill post pics later... wrong pc at the moment lol!!

Chantell, while I agree in theory with the gentlemen above, it does rain afternoons and evenings so don't fret about a bit of irrigation water on your plants.

Before the weather changed it's patterns, it rained every afternoon or early evening around here. I remember plants being a lot more lush back then. It seemed like they had the opportunity to actually absorb and use the moisture whereas nowadays when I water in the morning it burns off before noon and the plants are stressed for the rest of the day and night. I also remember reading a study done a while back about how much more effective late day watering is for the plants. Nothing was said about increased fungus production.

If you are concerned about creating the ideal conditions for fungal diseases just give your garden a spritz of a baking soda solution once in a while.

Good Tip!!

Michael - "I have a box of stepeliads enroute from a generous member who D-mailed me. Ill letcha know how many came, I may send some your way with a few plumie cuttings too." You made my day!!! Just let me know!!!

Hmmm, baking soda eh? I'll have to remember that!! Thanks for the info on watering as well!!!

Yes your plants might look good but one thing you forget to take into consideration..
If they sit in water overnight it will cause the flower production to diminish and will cause the flower size to be reduce..
I have seen this many times flowers that are suppose to be 3-4'' are coming out as 2''.

Like i said in my post water the roots and not the leaves and you don't have to worry about burn off..
The fresh water at the roots in the morning will prevent the plumie from drooping or being burnt from the hot sun..
When the sun is beaming on her leaves the plumie will send moisture up thru her trunk and out thru the leaves this is a normal exchange process and if she is dry at the root section or not enough mositure she will keep the water there to survive thus leaving the leaves expose to the heat without any moisture in them..
It is like you and i going in the sun without sunscreen..
Most people forget about the dreaded UV index.Down here in South Florida where it averages 12+ it is very important to factor that in.

Just my thoughts to each his own..

You are right, it is always better to water the roots when you can. But, you would never want to have a plant sitting in water, overnight or not. With good drainage and consistant watering I find the flowers on most plants are superior, at least it is that way in our climate. We have excellent air circulation here and that probably helps.

This summer has shown us just how important drip irrigation is. We are looking into the possibility of converting our overhead system to drip. Right now I am putting down 1" of water every morning and it is still not enough in this heat. The trees are taking all the moisture and the soil is bone dry - just like my wallet will be when I get the water bill.
By late afternoon I am watering a lot of containers, including the plumies, by hand.

Plumeria are truly survivors,
The heat and some drought will not hurt them.
I have preffered in the past to be drier rather than wet.
Wet feet are a major no-no with plumies
They are heat and drought tolerant as much as any succulent ive ever had
Of course that is if they are established well in a large pot or in the ground.
Dont baby them too much or youll do more damage than good.
Mine do best with a little help and a lot of admiration without a hose in my hand lol!!
Remember ROT is the number one reason folks lose these plants, too much water....
Hurricanes are number 2....
Water when needed and tie em down when the wind picks up lol!!
I just put 2- 50+ lb rocks on Mrs. Malestroms pot
She held up in a 65 mph blast the other night
We may not get the brunt of hurricanes here
But we do get hammered by severe thunderstorms regularly
50 to 75 mph wind blasts are common.
I have all my pots and buckets screwed together now and then screwed to the deck and fence and roof top lol!!
Heres an outside view of my plumie pen 8-02-2006

Ahh, Michael...that's so great!!! Man ya'll get some winds up there..we don't get those...unless hurricanes are whipping thru!!

This message was edited Aug 2, 2006 3:23 PM

Ah, I'm afraid I have to disagree with the boys here and agree with Ardesia, but remember, folks, that we are all in different climates with different heat and humidity levels. You have to figure out what works best for you by looking at your plants, your flowering, etc. You can change watering patterns, fertilizing levels, potting soil to suit what works best for you. The only way you can find this out is by trial and error.

There is no way I can water in the morning ever. If I'm not working through it, I am sleeping through it. I'm not a morning person at all. I do water every evening before it gets dark, and I do spray the leaves when I water, and I never have a problem with fungus, but the air here is dry, not humid, and there is often a soft breeze in the air. I water when the soil looks dry, and it looks dry about every day. I use a focused shower spray and aim for the root ball, and if it looks like the root ball is still moist from the day before, then I skip that container. If I am in a hurry, I will use a broad spray and spray all the containers at once, leaves, roots, and all. I do like to spray the leaves to blast any insects off, and if there is a grasshopper hiding in my plumies, this will usually send him flying. Spraying the leaves daily also keeps the spider mites at bay as they hate water. We've had a lot less spider mites and whiteflies this summer, probably due to some tropical humidity that we've had which has been unusual. However, all that said, I wouldn't recommend spraying the leaves at night if you live in Florida or other humid places because fungus/rust is a problem in humid areas as Robert said. Using Bayleton or another fungicide will help to keep rust at bay.

Ardesia and Michael are quite right about good-drainage being important and wet feet being detrimental to plumerias. However, I find that healthy plumerias don't rot when given lots of water in the summer provided they have good drainage. Cold weather + cold wet soil = rot, and this usually happens in the wintertime. I sometimes have to water my plumies twice a day when there is a hot, drying wind.

Michael, your plumie pen looks great!

Chantell-
As far as I can tell, the large plumeria pots have been drying out completely by mid-afternoon. This is extremely rare for me, but I've been watering twice per day this week. In the previous few weeks the problem was that rain and humidity prevented things from drying at all. Now I've got the opposite problem. My amatuer guage is how soon the water evaporates from the pavement underneath. Now it's within minutes.

Andi,
The weather's nuts isn't it?! My pots have been looking dry on a daily basis as well...course it's 98 degrees now!!

Clare,
Trial and Error? OMG...no!! I don't want error... *pouting* Ok...I'll figure this thing out yet!!

My Miama Rose has flowers again...yippeee....sadly none of the others do...but plently of leaves so I'm encouraged!!

Pots screwed together and then screwed to the ground? Michael, that is dedication!
I haved to hysterically run around and grab any pots that might fly (or fly over) when we have storms. Of course, I can't remember when we last had one.

Talk about strange weather. As I write this there is thunder booming all around but it is unlikely we will get any precipitation here.

I cant run around collecting over 300 pots lol!!
I just posted a new thread with shots of most of my collection in the plumie pen.
I didnt include the front of the house or the side.

Going to look now....

We're up to 110 air temp according to the local news. In some cases on road pavement they are measuring 130+ . They found playground equipment at 170+ contact temp! That may explain it.

99 actual degrees is what my computer is reading down here...God knows what the heat index is...wow...triple digits...OMG...like living in the high desert again!! Cacti are lovin' life!!

Believe me Michael, you can and you would run around picking up 300+ pots. LOL

When you live on a barrier island, even one that has not been the target of hurricane for over 100 years, you have to evacuate when a bad one is out there. Every time that happens I have to do the run around dance. Some pots go into the garage and others come into the sun room, still more go under the house. Where they go is determined more by how special they are to me rather than size. My neighbors are all buying batteries and I am grabbing plants! LOL

I have tried very hard to get things into the ground but I can't help propagating more and then I am behind the 8 ball again. Presently I have over 250 pots and untold flats of seedlings and cuttings.

LOL tooo funny
Sounds like we are quite a bit alike!!

Hey I thought we all agree not to say the |-| word in here!!
;=/

Well said Clare...
You guys with the watering twice a day should look up what the evaporation levels are for your area.It sounds like it is on the high side if you got to water that much..
When you sweat it turns to water vapor and then it evaporates thus keeping you cool..
When the temp and humidity reach a certain level there is no evaporation going on and this is why i need to watch how i water my stuff..
My soil is moist even the plumies i stuck on my roof which is 135+ degrees on the surface..
It could be the coir coconut i am using which has some fir bark mix with it or just the low evaporation levels..
It's amazing how all our watering needs are so different even when we are all in a hot spell...

Mike that is alot of work my hats off to you dude for your dedication..

I think coir is amazing and wish I could get it locally. The bricks are heavy and the shipping costs are usually prohibitive. When ge travel north I buy grit, maybe I'll have to start picking up coir when we go south to FL. Nah, can't sacrifice any room in the car, it is all for plants. LOL

Lopaka, how do you figure an evaporation rate?

Also, do you have huge (100'+) trees around your property? I am sure the Live Oaks, Loblollys and Palmettos are slurping my irrigation water leaving little for any inground plants and shrubs.

Ardesia,
Sell that car and buy an airport size van the Dodge 3500 series, seats 17
It has a 1 ton capacity
Pleeennnty of room for cuttings, plants, coir and grit lol!!
Maybe rent one next trip and get enough plants to make the $$ back lol!!

Yeah..."Road Trip for plants" yipeee!

Too funny. My DH will tell you I can pack my clothes in a tiny tote bag but I never fly without 2 suitcases just to bring back plants. It is a pain now when security checks everything and there is a weight limit these days too. bummer!

I do need a larger car but at gas prices these days maybe I'll have to wait for a hybrid model. Last week in VA I hit the $70.00 mark at the pump. Whew, that would buy some nice plants.

Chantell, aren't all road trips for plants? LOL

Now if it would just rain...........................................

$70.- ... I wish lol
I have a 31 gallon tank and only use High test lol!!
$3.60 a gallon PHEW!!! $111.+

Well move on down (everyone else does). Here in the boonies I pay $3.05 for HT and I can leave most of my plants out all winter. :-))))))))).

(But a good cheese steak is hard to come by)

Alice,
You "LOL" but yes...my poor kids know...doesn't matter where we go...I hunt down nurseries!!! They just groan...it's so sad really!! They out-right refuse to hit HD or Lowes with me...they KNOW what I'm going for. Ha!! Although the amount time has lessened considerably given my collection has grown and I'm pickier now (due to space limitations) as to what I'm "looking" for. $50+ for me to fill-up...& that's the cheap gas at around $2.85 (Costco)...I've only got, I think, a 20 gal tank...but it's a mini-van and can FIT plants!!! LOL

See Michael...everyone mentions cheese steaks when they talk with you...remember?

ardesia-
I'm sure that you know what's available in your area, but did you check your local pet stores for coir? I couldn't find it either for the longest time, and actually ordered some online from gardening sites before I realized that it's commonly sold in pet stores that sell supplies for reptiles and at a lower price.

Wow, I didn't know that. Thanks andi, I'll check the next time I get to Charleston or Savannah.

Yep. After all of that hassle I got it at a local Petco/mart. It's also called "coco peat". It's in the snake section.

Ok...another of my "duh" questions...what are ya'll using this for/on?

It's used pure for potting or to supplement a potting mix. Some amaryllis bulb growers swear by it. That's what I used it for. It retains water very well. My experience was it was great for outdoor plants, but it was too humid inside my house in winter, and it molded. If I lived in a climate where my plants could remain outdoors all year, I would make greater use of it. When I researched it, I also noticed that it seems to be popular with people growing "recreational" plants, so to speak.

This message was edited Aug 3, 2006 7:22 PM

I keep forgeting i posted pics on another forum lol..
here is my soil mix and yes someone is correct about it being in the pet store..
It mainly use for lizards and Iguanas as a bedding and they sell it bug free because of the needs of those lizards who need humidity...
I love it because it drains so fast i mean as fast as you can pour the water in it will drain out especially if you mix in perlite..
Coir will hold the right amount of water and air so the plants won't rot or dry out too fast..
Here is my post from another forum..
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Here is my soil mix (perlite pics excluded) which by the way i don't use any dirt.
http://img155.imageshack.us/my.php?image=200607210192jm8.jpg
http://img86.imageshack.us/my.php?image=200607210195sn5.jpg
http://img155.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rotationof200607210193nn9.jpg

I even throw some seeds in Grodan Rockwool and water the wool with my special blends of nutrients just to see what will happen..
Remember plants don't need dirt to grow, the dirt is only a catalyst for the nutrients you can supply the plant/seeds with the nutrients it needs if you keep it at the right PH balance and the right amount at the right time..
The wool makes it easy to transplant into your soil just buried the rockwool cube in your favorite dirt and the roots will grow right thru them..
http://www.mauiplumeriagardens.com/forums/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=16219
http://www.mauiplumeriagardens.com/forums/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=16220

Thanks Lopaka, I will definitely try to find a pet store with coir; I know where I can get the rockwool.

Now, what was that black spray bottle of __?__ Soy for?