Drip system and regulating water for different plants

[eklawun]

I'm trying this in the hydrangea forum because they are the plants that seem to be suffering... I planted a few things at the end of June (that's when the patio got done...), among others, three hydrangeas on the northern corner of the east side of the house, thinking that would give morning sun and afternoon shade. Come to find out that the sun is on that bed till about 2:30... So now I have umbrellas over the hydrangeas.

My question is whether I have made a mistake having a drip system installed? It covers the planting beds on the whole back of the house. When it was installed and the plants were new, I was told to water for 2 hours twice a day. I am down to 20 minutes in the morning, but think this is still too much water for the hydrangeas. I have a clay soil that I thought the guys were thoroughly amending when the beds were put in; alas this was not so, or not to the extent I thought.

Temps have been over 102 every day for days with a gusty hot south wind (like a hairdryer on high), so I am afraid for the poor plants and don't want to give them too little, but wonder whether I should go to watering every other day or longer in between? The other plants on the same line are: butterfly bush, boxwood, roses, fountain grass, summer sweet, crape myrtle, and a chaste tree. The forsythia on the south side is already succumbing to apparent lack of sufficient moisture.

Do I need to seperate the systems for the various beds? (Not sure how I would do that...), or try again to amend the soil for the hydrangeas? (Add sand maybe??) Or just water less??

I am rather desperate not to kill these plants!

I hope someone can help! I would appreciate any thoughts you have.
Thanks!

[luis_pr]

Using drip irrigation on hydrangeas is fine. But be aware that different drip systems can release water at different rates so the amount of time will depend on how fast water drips. 1 gallon of water happens to be the amount of water that newly planted hydrangeas should have per watering. With my drip irrigation system, if I schedule the zone to run for one hour, it will release one gallon of water. So review the documentation of your system and-or discuss with the installer how long does it take for your system to release 1 gallon of water. Then set it to "go" for that amount of time.

I am currently having to water twice a week. And I water manually with a hose on a third day because I do not want to water the other shrubs in the hydrangeas' zone so much. Unfortunately, with temps at 106 or so, I may have no choicee weeks, especially if it is windy.

Make sure you are watering 1 gallon per watering and do this at least twice a week. Consider increasing the amount of water to 1.3 gallons per watering if temperatures do not come down some. Or manually water a third time. I manually water on weekends, early in the mornings, while it is in the lower 80s and feels more "comfortable".

[eklawun]

Thank you so much for your reply!!! I am really convinced now that everything is getting too much water. I think I will switch out all the rest of the 2 gallon drippers that don't seem necessary and go to twice a week watering. I'm pretty sure we're having similar weather, so I will look at watering by hand one extra time if the hydrangeas are looking droopy. Thanks again for your help!