June, July and August are the hottest months for Albuquerque. Our current drought intensifies the heat stress of plants even more because there is lower soil moisture content and higher than normal ET from plants (plants losing more water due to EvapoTranspiration). Regional plants have evolved to adapt to this type of stress, but they still need water. Don’t go overboard! Plants growing in soil that is too wet can be negatively affected, leading to the death of roots. Stunted slow growth and yellowing leaves could be a symptom of overwatering.
Follow these tips to assure your plant’s success and conserve water.
Tips for Watering Your Plants Using a Hose and Nozzle:
Make sure your nozzle or watering wand has an on/off switch that does not leak. This allows you to completely turn off the water at the hose end when you are not using it.
Make sure the wand or nozzle is set to “shower” or a setting that imitates rainfall.
To make sure you don’t have too much pressure, grab a five-gallon bucket and adjust your hose pressure with the nozzle or wand attached. Fill it up ¾ of the way in one minute. Set a timer (timers and stopwatches on your phone are great for this) so you know how long that minute is.
Once you know the correct pressure, we recommend writing down how many turns of the handle you did and use that as your reference. Or, using fingernail polish, put a dot on your faucet handle that also lines up with a dot on the faucet stem so you have a visual reminder.
If you are watering just a few plants located near each other, you will want to build a well around the plants. This makes sure the water stays where you want it to be most effective and avoids water waste.
Wetting plant leaves or the trunk base of a tree is not an efficient way to water and may damage the health of some plants. Instead, water around the plant, aiming at the root growing area.
If you are ready to invest in a more efficient irrigation system instead of dragging your hose around the yard, a Water Sense Smart hose timer is the way to go.
A Smart timer system connected to a professional landscape dripline can water your yard at a set time and for a set length of time. Hose timers can accommodate many several hoses and zones (usually from one to four). We offer a rebate on a Water Sense Smart Irrigation Controllers hose timer that adjusts to our weather and your plant’s watering needs. Each valve can be set to water at various times throughout the day. For example, you could set one valve to water your vegetable garden for 10 minutes daily and another valve to water your perennials two times a week for 20 minutes.
Drip Irrigation Tips:
Make sure you always have a pressure regulator on your drip line. Even if you are converting an old turf valve into a drip zone, use an in-line pressure regulator.
Using professional in-line emitted drip tubing around trees and shrubs is often the most efficient way to provide your trees with enough water.
Make sure you have more than one emitter per plant. That way, if an emitter clogs, you have less chance of that plant dying from lack of water.
“Walk the Line” at least once a month, looking and listening for any broken drip. You are listening for the sound of rushing water and looking for little fountains, excessive wet areas or wilted plants.
Make sure you know approximately where your polyline runs so it is easier for you to know where to plant and make repairs.
Make sure drip irrigation gets moved out to the edge of a shrub or tree canopy and increase the number of emitters as your plants get larger. This is especially important on trees and medium and high-water shrubs.
Your Desert Accent plants, and Rainwater-Only plants may not need supplemental drip irrigation after the third year, so plugging the emitters will help you save water.
Author: Richard Perce, Irrigation Efficiency Specialist with the Water Conservation Department for the Water Authority. Have a question about the article? AskAnExpert@abcwua.org
Description: Choose a spot in your landscape that has an area with full sun and well-drained soils. This cactus blooms beautiful pink flowers with yellow centers and typically blooms in the spring and early summer. The vibrant flowers will add pigment and excitement to any landscape. Flourishes in xeriscape, rock gardens, or low-water-use landscapes.
Irrigation is essential to give plants a healthy start, so they become well-rooted in the landscape. A great way to find out the water needs of individual plants is by checking out the ABCWUA Xeriscape Guide and then follow the seasonal watering recommendations.
When your landscape is new, the best thing to do is observe your plants and respond to their cues. Sometimes there are a few plants that seem to need water more often than others at first. It is better to put higher flow rate emitters on these plants or give them extra water by hose than it is to add more water to everything in the landscape. Once they develop a better root system, these plants can be watered just like all the plants around them.
Here are three frequently asked questions about watering new plants:
Where do I place drip emitters?
Drip emitters should be placed where the backfill meets the root ball. Larger plants need several higher flow rate emitters to water the transplanted roots plus the backfill. Make sure the water goes deep enough to water the entire root ball plus the soil below the roots.
How do I know what plants to group in my yard?
Plants grouped on the same irrigation valve should have similar water needs.
How often should I water my new plants?
Actual water use varies seasonally and as the plants grow. It makes sense to give plants less water less frequently during cooler weather and more water more frequently during extremely hot, windy weather. To encourage deep roots, water must go deeper into the soil as the plants grow. Deeply rooted native shrubs need water to go down 24 inches once a month. Fruit trees, which have shallow roots, need watering to go to a depth of 18 inches every week while they are producing fruit from mid-April to September.
Plants with very low water needs may be able to survive on rainfall alone, once they are well-rooted in 3 to 5 years. If you want them to be more attractive, water them monthly in the summer, especially if monsoon rains are late or scant.
Plants with medium water need to benefit from watering twice monthly, May through September, but only once a month the rest of the year.
Plants with high water needs should be watered weekly, May through September, twice monthly during March, April, and October, and monthly the rest of the year.
As roots start to go deeper into the soil, it's usually best to water less often but for longer cycles so the roots continue to go down further into the soil. But here are a couple of things to keep in mind!
Watering for more than a 3 or 4-hour cycle in well-drained soil will put the water deeper than roots will grow.
In poorly drained soil, water that goes too deep could inhibit the rooting of arid-adapted plants.
As plants root out, they will become more resilient and need less observation.
Author: Judith Phillips, owner of Design Oasis, landscape designer, and garden writer with 30 years of experience designing arid-adapted and native gardens in the high desert. Have a question about the article? AskAnExpert@abcwua.org
Building a refuge for wildlife in our yards is a way to nurture habitat on a personal scale and actively care for our wild neighbors. By intentionally creating spaces we can share with other urban species, Albuquerque can be a refuge for both people and wildlife.
There is a wonderful program set up for Albuquerque residents called the ABQ Backyard Refuge Program. It helps residents establish a habitat that supports a mixture of wildlife. The ABQ Backyard Refuge Program, which is managed by the Friends of Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, was developed by more than forty partners including local government agencies, university departments, and conservation organizations. The program provides resources for residents, including an introductory guide that features a list of plants that both thrive in the Albuquerque area and attract different kinds of wildlife as well as a workbook for building and documenting your refuge. The goal of the ABQ Backyard Refuge Program is to create a mosaic of habitat across the city to provide resources for both resident and migrating wildlife. In addition to recruiting residents to build a habitat in their yards, we are working with our partners to increase green space in the communities most affected by our changing climate.
It is easy to make your yard more friendly for wildlife! Here are three tips:
~Leave a few dead branches in your yard, as long as they don’t pose a safety hazard. They can provide great perches for birds and food sources or potential nesting sites for woodpeckers.
~Allow some leaves to stay on the ground in the fall so more butterflies are attracted to your property in the spring.
~Leave dried sunflowers and grasses in your yard because they provide food for wildlife during the winter.
Whether you have a balcony or a patio (where you can put potted pollinator plants) or acreage at your home, you can make changes that benefit wildlife. Check out becoming a member of our ABQ Backyard Refuge Certification Program! When you certify your space as an ABQ Backyard Refuge, you are helping to encourage neighbors and other members of the community to build wildlife habitats. As a member of the certification program, you will receive a metal sign with stickers that show your certification level. The sign can be a conversation starter with your neighbors and help the program grow. Learn more about the ABQ Backyard Refuge Program by attending a virtual 90-minute workshop on Friday, June 11. The workshop normally costs $10, but scholarships are available. For more information and to register for the workshop, visit https://friendsofvalledeoro.org/abq-backyard-refuge/
Author: Laurel Ladwig, Backyard Refuge Partnership Coordinator, Friends of Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge. Visit www.abqbackyardrefuge.org and follow us on Facebook & Instagram @ABQbackyardrefuge, and Twitter ABQbrp Have a question about the article? AskAnExpert@abcwua.org
This bunchgrass is a warm season native grass used in reclamation plantings for erosion control in rural landscapes. It is recommended to seed with other prairie seed mixes because it is slow to establish. Once established it can withstand extreme temperature variations, drought and heavy traffic.
