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beachplant

Heat, drought, water restrictions and a hot roof

beachplant
10 years ago

Yesterday was finally the day to water, Thursday was the last day the roof got watered and I really haven`t been out there.
The Plumera are NOT happy. Stems are wrinkled, leaves are drooping and they just don`t look happy. The roof is tar paper, full sun 90% of the day. Usually their favorite spot, but no water for 3 days is too much. Some of them will go to the back deck, full sun most of the day, wooden deck which reflects less heat and I haul water from the tub out to those plants. Have to climb out the window to the front porch. Quite a few are going in the ground this morning.
With a good watering and moved they look much happier, stems have plumped up and no droopy leaves. I am amazed how many need to be repotted already this year! They are really going to take off once in the garden.

Penang Peach, Broomstick Rainbow and Pudica were recently repotted in large planters and are just fine, it is all the smaller pots, plastic/clay/ceramic made no difference, that are unhappy.
Tally HO!

Comments (12)

  • mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma
    10 years ago

    Glad to hear they got a much needed drink.

    do you have access to the condensation drain lines on you Air Conditioner. The Furnace unit on a central heat and air is where you will find them. Window unit AC will condense water also. I used to collect mine a few years ago and would catch 10-15 gallons of water per day. Of course it depends on how much you use it and how humid it is but free water is nice no matter how much you get.

    Mike

  • Kimo
    10 years ago

    OMG IDon't you hate water restrictions, we have them here also.
    Are your restrictions based on time you can water, or is based on usage on your bill? I personally am anti establishment and would sneak and water my plants, with buckets if need be. If they are monitoring your usage than thats another story. If you live near a lake or a pond you could collect water in large trash cans and use that also.

    Hope all works out.

    Cheers

  • PRO
    the_first_kms2
    10 years ago

    Mine are on days of the week and times. The ones on my roof are high enough that the water police can't see. :)

    Right now we don't have hand watering restrictions.

  • Kimo
    10 years ago

    For you Tx people, I give you kudos for your plumie devotion. With your heat and humidity Id die if I had to hand water.
    Cheers

  • honeybunny2 Fox
    10 years ago

    I love to hand water early in the morning, its therapeutic for me. Its quite, cool, and relaxing. I usually just water for an hour or two, I'm back inside by 8:30am. Barbra

  • jandey1
    10 years ago

    Tally, how often can you water now?

    My two 55-gallon rain barrels are still more than half-full with the few thunderstorms we've had. I only water a couple times a week, three if the plants are in pots that are not plunged. Rarely do I have to use the hose. That will be soon with our temps getting into triple digits, though.

    It's not the heat and humidity when hand-watering that bothers me, it's the ferocious mosquitoes!

  • surfbreeze
    10 years ago

    I didn't know Galveston was under restrictions right now. I feel fortunate to have a well, living in a rural area. Our restriction is the burn ban that has been in effect for a while. Hang in there. A few showers were coming in from the Gulf this morning, and they are so random it is anyone's guess where they will hit. Chances for rain increase this weekend.

  • beachplant
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    It`s been months since we had significant rain. There is a good chance this weekend. Rainbarrels are the next item to purchase when the gutters are paid for.

    We can water on Monday and Thursdays, that may change as they are talking about level 3 restrictions, once per week outside. They don`t monitor our use. I take drought very seriously and would never water outside when not allowed. I haul water from the tub, the sink and we`re hooking the washer to drain into the garden next week. Dog bowls are emptied into plants, the bird bowls are emptied into plants. We quit taking showers so we can use the water from the tub. Our water comes from the Brazos River and is piped through a water main that is over 100 years old.

    I put more plumeria in the ground while off this week, mulched, moved stuff to the garden and bunched them up to help decrease their watering needs. One of the reasons I grow plumeria is the fact they are drought tolerant once established and such low maintenance.

    Some cities in Texas ran out of water last year, they brought in big tankers and you had to go get water in jugs, nothing came from the taps. I would feel mighty guilty out watering when I knew we were under restrictions with that going on in the state!! Texas lost millions of trees last year from the drought.

    Doing the nekkid turtle dance and hoping for a big ole tropical storm this weekend! Come on tropics!!!
    Tally HO!

  • honeybunny2 Fox
    10 years ago

    Tally, is there a chance you could put in a water well? If your not in the city limits, and not too close to the bay, this could be an option. We are 1,000 ft from the water, and a few feet outside the city limits. We put in our third water well in 2005, so it could run the sprinkler system. In the summer we save over $400 a month compared to our neighbors without wells. That last well paid for itself the first summer we had it. Barbra

  • beachplant
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    no wells on the island, no fresh water. The water table is 5-7` and it`s salt. I had to dig the pond much shallower than I wanted because I hit water.
    There were fresh water wells on the west end back in the 1800`s but the city has relied on cisterns and the mainland for water for over a century. Even if we had fresh water for a well they are illegal in the city.
    We`re in the middle of the city, the island is less than 1 mile wide here.

    I have learned to cope with our summer droughts after all these years and rarely lose more than a couple of annuals. Our trees, for the most part, survived Ike. They are all established having been planted after Carla In the 60`s. Typical for Galveston none of them are nearly as large as they would be on the Mainland.

    Some years it rains every day, some years it feels like years since it rained.

    RAIN TODAY!! YEAH!
    Tally HO!

  • tdogdad
    10 years ago

    I like to put water in several 33 gallon trash cans from HD. When it rains, my gutter has a tube that goes into the cans. By sitting in the cans, the chlorine from hose water evaporates making it more plant friendly. Tally HO- sounds like you need to find one of those desalination units used on boats. There also must be some way to condense all that humidity. Now I have to think about this. Bill

  • beachplant
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    We hooked the a/c up to a hose yesterday to drain into the garden. I`m picking up a rain barrel next week to put under the other window unit. Those things produce tons of water! Next month we get rain barrels for all the downspouts-there are 9 or 11, I have to go around and count.

    If I could squeeze that humidity out of the air the plants might drown lol!

    The rain is really scattered, not much at the house yet but there is still a lot in the Gulf so hope springs eternal.
    Tally HO!

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