o Without fotos almost impossible to determine why dieback all of a sudden. Likely they are getting cooked or too moist before fully established and reacting. Hopefully they will recover. Trim dead branches only. Nothing to panic about, happens more than you think with these.

o Everything seems to say 1" per week, but I don't know how to translate that to gallons.

You have to know the area of the watering ring and the depth. That gives you volume. (BTW, it is 1 GPH, not GPM). That will tell you the duration of the valve cycle. Many math assistant calculators on websites out there. Alternatively, you can fill a watering can with a gallon and water slowly and try and guesstimate if a gallon will do it. Soil factors make it impossible to suggest from here.

Barberries can be finicky for several years until they learn they are stuck there and they can quit whining and get on with their display.

Dan

Gallons per hour, sorry, of course that's what I meant. Thank you for your feedback. Hopefully they'll stick it out! I'll see if I can find some of the calculators you mentioned.

Barberries are easy to grow. What's hard is reining them in once they get going. I've got a couple of very healthy Rose Glow barberries.

They'll just take a little time (through the end of the season - Oct/Nov.) to get established. They'll come back like gangbusters next year.

If you've had rain like we've had rain during June (in the Midwest), ... then I wouldn't worry about doing any extra watering.

You probably don't have to worry about water until about a week has gone by without rain.

I hope you're right! I know everything says they're easy to grow, and I was hoping I would mange to get them going. They do have a lot of leaves that are shriveling up and/or turning yellow, particularly the darker purple/green leaves toward the bottom and center of the plant. The newer pink-ish growth seems to be fine so far.

Yesterday was the first time I have watered them since I put them it, and I did wait a whole week since the last rain. I'll keep working with them and hopefully they'll make it!

I'll try to figure out how to upload some pictures too.

YOU ASK THIS: Also, when I do water with the drip system, how long should I leave the water on at 1 gallon per minute? Everything seems to say 1" per week,

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THE NURSERY GUY SAID [and i am very! impressed said]:
Following the advice of the nursery, I'm checking down in the soil several inches for moisture content before I water, and only watering if it's dry down about 3". They said that overwatering is a common problem and was important to avoid.

=====WHERE IS THE CONFUSION ...????

gallons per minute per weeper is irrelevant ... you WATER WHEN THEY NEED WATER.. like the guy said ... and you dont overwater ...

i struggled with the EXACT issue when i put in drip irrigation.. and after 2 years of thinking i needed a rocket scientist to figure it out.. i ran the system for a couple hours.. and went a dug a small hole.. and found out if that was long enough to get it as deep as i needed it

... and if not.. ran it for another hour .. and another hole.. until i figured out how water moved thru MY SOIL...

that is really the reason you cant get a straight answer from anyone other than yourself.. because no one knows anything about YOUR SOIL ... and how water moves thru it ...

just some time, patience and digging.. and you will figure it out ... if i can.. you can ...

on tree/shrubs/conifers.. long deep waterings... and allowing them to NEARLY dry in between .. is much better than infrequent shallow watering that does not get thru the root zone ...

good luck

ken

How deep should I dig down to check for moisture when I'm watering then? Down to the bottom of the root ball? Just a few inches? Also, since they're newly planted, is it ok to check the soil just next to the root ball, or do I need to be checking down in the root ball itself to gauge moisture? I'd been checking in the soil just beside the root ball, thinking to not harm the roots, but I'm afraid the root ball may have dried out quicker than the surrounding soil. I gave them a long drip watering and hopefully they'll bounce back, but I'd really like to figure out how to take care of them properly! Thank you!

Your barberries don't need for you to take care of them.

They'll do just fine. They just may need a little extra water for the rest of the summer.

Truth is, you planted them pretty late in the season, so, no matter how dutifully you water them, ... you are going to see some leaves yellowing and dropping.

This is because the plants' root systems are not developed adequately to support all that foliage (leaves) in the summer's heat.

They'll probably continue to lose some leaves through the rest of the summer, but will survive to establish a good root system during the fall/winter, and next spring, they'll come back great.

Your objective, for the rest of the summer, is to make sure that they have enough water so that they don't completely dry out.

I would forget about checking the soil dryness, ... and just give them a little water (maybe an hour's worth), ... after it hasn't rained for a few days. Think of it as supplementing for the rain. Ideally, plants would like some rain every few days. So, if it hasn't rained (or you haven't watered) in a few days, give 'em a little water.

They'll probably only need this till the daytime temperatures drop some, and next, summer, ... not at all.

Thank you so much for your help! I did want to plant earlier, but the nursery didn't get any in until late May, unfortunately. I'll keep giving them drinks as needed, and hopefully all will turn out well.