Arboretum water wise bed

[FIMCO-MEISTER]

Hopefully this wiil do it justice. I have some ideas I'm going to try after i visit with everybody today and will take more pics.

[Kiril]

Do ya think they could have used a font that was somewhat readable? ;)

Have fun watering that. I see at least 4 different hydrozones all mixed in together. :nono:

Nice design though. :clapping:

[Wet_Boots]

readable ain't elegant enough

[Mike Leary]

Do ya think they could have used a font that was somewhat readable? ;)

That's the new "cutsy" form that the pup LAs are using to impress the clients,
sure does'nt do it for me, only one step up from the crayon method.:hammerhead:

[FIMCO-MEISTER]

Do ya think they could have used a font that was somewhat readable? ;)

Have fun watering that. I see at least 4 different hydrozones all mixed in together. :nono:

Nice design though. :clapping:

In your opinion ignoring my past posts and having only two zones what do you see as the two most prevalent hydrozones? Knowing that when it rains it rains on both the thirsty and the saturated would you consider a let it rain attitude to this landscape but keeping it as infrequent and necessary as possible? I brought up the different watering requirements of some of these plants at a committee meeting prior to the job as was greeted with indignation by the "professional" landscapers. They insisted these were all dryland plants that could be watered at an absolute minimum. One final note. I was told secondhand that one landscaper who was a major PIB complained that their were dry spots without checking the soil or observing the plants. If I left it to her this bed would die from overwatering.

[PurpHaze]

My theory: Fancy fonts are often used so the writing looks more like Latin and imparts even greater importance to the design drawing. :)

Everything I CAD out uses plain old Arial font. It prints out clear and concise... not that I haven't experimented with other fonts.

[Kiril]

In your opinion ignoring my past posts and having only two zones what do you see as the two most prevalent hydrozones?

Annuals at irrigation target depth of 6-8"

Perennials at irrigation target depth 14-18"

Knowing that when it rains it rains on both the thirsty and the saturated would you consider a let it rain attitude to this landscape but keeping it as infrequent and necessary as possible?

Absolutely. I would schedule irrigation only when soil moisture is at 10-15% of PWP for the two target depths once plants are established (3-5 years).

I brought up the different watering requirements of some of these plants at a committee meeting prior to the job as was greeted with indignation by the "professional" landscapers.

All I can say is .... idiots. That's the approach one takes when not knowing what your dealing with, so they over water to be safe. When I suggested 4 hydrozones I was only considering plant specific hydrozones. If you consider exposure, slope, and aspect, you might as well bump that up to 8-10 hydrozones.

They insisted these were all dryland plants that could be watered an absolute minimum.

Possible, I didn't take a close look at all the plants, but dryland or not, annuals will require more water than perennials, perennials more than natives and succulents.

One final note. I was told secondhand that one landscaper who was a major PIB complained that their were dry spots without checking the soil or observing the plants. If I left it to her this bed would die from overwatering.

Sounds like alot of homeowners I deal with. Call me to adjust their irrigation system complaining that everything looks dry. I try to explain to them that just because the soil surface is dry doesn't mean there is no water available. I then scratch off an 1" of soil to demonstrate how it is in fact not dry at all.

I would point out to this PIB that this is supposed to be a "water wise" display.

Typically if dealing with irrigation zones with plants having mixed water requirements, I'll pick an indicator plant (ie. sometimes the plant most sensitive to water deficit) and water to keep that alive if you absolutely need to keep everything alive.

As noted in another thread, I will also use the plant with the highest density as my indicator plant, and water for that. This means the client needs to be on board knowing there is a good chance they will lose some plants, but in the long run will have a better balanced system once they replace lost plants with ones appropriate for the hydrozone.

If push comes to shove, you might be able to split up your two valves, using them as masters for another set of valves so you could get 4 - 6 zones instead of 2, but it's probably too late to do that.

Me thinks you also might have some coverage issues once that landscape matures so they better hope what is planted are truly "dryland" plants. ;)

[FIMCO-MEISTER]

One nice thing about MPs that I considered is that the streams seem to find their way through dense plants. At the committee meeting I was assured that the plants on the edge would be maintained to allow the 12" popups w/MPs to spray over. We'll see.

[Mike Leary]

Hey Peter, did you ever buy a Lincoln moisture probe? Those little dears have
a habit of shutting-down "master gardeners" & their well-meaning but mis-
guided "advice". Remember the "a little knowledge".....line. What I do with
the Lincoln is pull the battery..then it's easy to add water!

[PurpHaze]

What I do with the Lincoln is pull the battery..then it's easy to add water!

Until someone puts it into a bucket of water and says, "Ah ha!" :)

[FIMCO-MEISTER]

Hey Peter, did you ever buy a Lincoln moisture probe? Those little dears have
a habit of shutting-down "master gardeners" & their well-meaning but mis-
guided "advice". Remember the "a little knowledge".....line. What I do with
the Lincoln is pull the battery..then it's easy to add water!

Yes I did. It is a great tool to shut people whining about water up real fast. We don't want to add unnecessary water. Are you telling me a Master gardener might pull that stunt on me?

[Mike Leary]

Yes I did. It is a great tool to shut people whining about water up real fast. We don't want to add unnecessary water. Are you telling me a Master gardener might pull that stunt on me?

They could pull it in reverse....adjust the Lincoln so it maxes out even tho
there is hardly any moisture! When around those experts, I always carry
my Lincoln calibration kit & a Kelway meter also.:)

[Kiril]

Treat it like the "water-wise" display it is and let the chips fall where they may. :)

[Kiril]

They could pull it in reverse....adjust the Lincoln so it maxes out even tho
there is hardly any moisture! When around those experts, I always carry
my Lincoln calibration kit & a Kelway meter also.:)

Yup, I've got both a Lincoln and Kelway as well, and they do come in handy when dealing with the PIB's.