Student Tree Nursery

I am a Master Gardener and a Licensed Irrigator in the State of Texas and have been asked to assist a local high school in the development of a small tree nusery on school property. I feel confident about the structure and design of a drip irrigation system but I would really like to get my hands on some credible data concerning watering amounts and frequencies related to the various trees and the various container sizes. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks!

You going for maxium growth? The commerical growing guys would have that info. If your just trying to get the trees to grow bigger without dying off I'm sure you have things set up well enough.

I would really like to gather some very detailed information regarding the irrigation needs of specific trees in specific sized pots. For example...how much water should a chalk maple in a 3 gallon pot receive over a 7 day period? And to perhaps futher complicate things...should the irrigaion be given in a once a week session or is twice, or even three times a week, a more apporopriate wattering schedule? Thanks for your consideration, Beth

Good luck. Some trees are going to like a lot of water in one shot, river birch comes to mind. Some would do better with small amounts over time. It's a tree by tree thing. Bald Cypress can sit in water just about all the time, drought tolerant trees aren't going to like water. I'm way over my head on this one but your going to have get more specific on what your trying to grow and go from there.

Yes, of course you are right! I realized that the information that I am asking for is not readily avalable. That is why i am reaching out to this network! Is there a reliable resourse that one can tap into that will give some tried and true measures for nuturing saplings in a beginners nursery? Beth

Depending on how hot it is, any tree in a three gallon pot is going to need watering almost everyday. Or are you going to plant them in the ground?

beth, since the pots drain much quicker than the ground, it will be a lot more difficult to overwater, however the more frequent the watering will require more replentishment of the nutrients that are washed away. some nutrients don't seem to wash away as quickly as others.
My "experiment was with 40 or so rose bands. i drip irrigated in 5-gallon pots, watered 3 times a day for an hour. they grew like monsters. but then some of them started getting a little chlorotic. i ended up planting them in the ground because i didn't want to play the nutrient balancing game. I also tried to find info on how much to water for the 5gal pots i had. I ended up just guessing. if i had to do it all over, i would have watered less. and i would think that you especially wouldn't want trees to grow too fast. since the pots drain quicker and get plenty of moisture without standing in water and more oxygen to their roots
it's much different than in the ground.how appropriate that you get to experiment and do your research at the school!lol! i am only green with envy! i know this isn't helpful but i don't think it's been researched that much.btw, why do they need to be in pots?

eventually those trees are going to have to go into the ground. unless of course they are bonsai.lol. also you might try a time-released fertilizer. if potting them is just for a shorter amt. of time, few months or so, it would probably be best to pot them all up in a ten or twenty gallon container. i would start by watering them once or twice a day and adjust as necessary. and i'm gussing they are in a prof. ptting mix like pine bark or something similiar.

Your soil will make a big difference. Most commercial potting mixes don't hold moisture very well. The water will almost go out as fast as you put it in. Black plastic pots will also get hotter in the sun, and that will increase evaporation. If you're going to be using drip irrigation, I think it should run between 11am and maybe 6pm during the growing season. While the trees are dormant during the winter, you could probably get by with a few hours every other day. If you have really good soil that holds moisture, you could stretch it out a little further.

I'm no expert, that's just my opinion.

I agree with escambiaguy - the soil mix makes a huge difference and don't buy the cheap stuff because you'll pay for it by plant quality in the end. The best results I've found are by incorporating slow-release fert in the soil using a cement mixer and adding a bit of this or that (sand, peat, perlite, compost) based on what I'm potting up. If you are purchasing your bundles of whips/seedlings bareroot from fieldgrown stock, ask your supplier for advice. You're paying them money so might as well get your money's worth. Also speak your local Extension office and they may have additional information you wouldn't have thought of like irrigation recycling, localized pest/disease issues and resources.

Len123 mentioned trial-and-error which is what I've learned from several growers. Speaking with a local tree grower can be key for sources, techniques and best practices. I've been growing Trachycarpus fortunei (Chinese Windmill Palm) from seed for many years. I've tried a number of different growing medias, containers and exposures and found out what works best by trying it. Irrigation was important but the trays under the benches grew best. I can ask the tree guys at the nursery I work at how they water the Acers in 3 gallon pots on drip.

What's the goal? In other words are the trees for sale (perhaps to support the overall project in the future) and when do you want them ready for market.? Are they for planting on school grounds? Are they strictly educational? Growers, besides producing a healthy attractive plant, focus on getting a plant ready for market in the shortest and most economical manner to maximize profits. There is a grower/hybridizer in mid Tenessee who can get 8ft of growth in some trees in one season. Besides being genus/species specific it would help to understand the end game and the time frame.

the only tried and true methods would be to plant them in the ground and water them until they get established if mother nature doesn't give you the moisture they need. as snapple says, a nursery grows them to a certain stage and for quick sale. if they plant in a container they are small and they expect to sell them before the roots start outgrowing the pot. the larger caliper trees are planted on a farm in the ground and dug, balled and burlapped when needed. the b&b trees are sometimes stored in a temporary deep mulch until they are sold.
if you could explain your strategy and give a more complete picture, i have no doubts that someone can help you. the exact amount of water would depend on your emitters (gph), the type of potting mix you have, the size of the trees, the size of the containers, is this to be permanent or temporary. in general if you have a free-draining potting mix you probably couldn't drown them but they will lose a lot of nutrients that will need to be replaced and they will grow very rapidly. conversely, if they are in a clay based soil they won't need all that moisture, will retain the nutrients better and be a slower growing stronger tree that won't need sticks and hose to hold them up.

Thank you al so very much for your excellent advice. If there is more out there, please keep it coming!

I have been able to determine a bit more anout the trees, the site, and the finial disposition of the trees. They are Arizona Cypress 1 - 2' bare root trees. They will be planted in 2 - 3 gallon pots. They will be on concrete (covered with landscape fabric) and they will be on a drip irrigation system with a timer. The project leader wants to grow them for two years for educational purposes and then perhaps sell them for a fund raiser.

Any comments or reccommendations are truely appreciated!

Thanks,
Beth