Well, today I spent 5 hours this morning converting my first bed from overhead spray to drip tube. Installed close to 350' of continuous tubing all just for one bed. Tomorrow I will be moving all the mulch that is underneath the tube to above the tube to hide it. I'm even going to eliminate my micro-misters on two of my beds already being irrigated by drip.

I would never have unmulched beds but I think we all tend to forget how much water it takes just to get the mulch soaked to get water to start going into the soil for the plants. I bet it takes at least a good 30 min after the sprays start before water actually hits the soil and start doing any good.

My yard is suffering too. I use soaker hoses only and am only watering veggie garden, foundation plantings, and a couple of shrubs I planted this spring, and then spot watering anything that looks like it is on the verge of dying. Still, my yard looks like it is drying up. I sure hope we get that promised rain on Friday.

Our subdivision is on Stage 2 rationing which means watering 3 times a week from 8pm to 8am. Since we don't have a sprinkler system, it is impossible for us to water this 7/8 acre yard in a few hours, especially since I have no intention of staying up till midnight watering in the dark. My roses, daylilies and a good amount of perennials are doing OK (not good, just OK), but I plan to pull up my annuals tomorrow...it is not worth the effort, time, or money to keep them alive!
Molly

we got an irrigation system this spring and it is terrific!!
the beds around the foundation get watered (misted) for an hour every other day
i was very worried about diseases and bugs, but neither have been a problem
my azaleas look absolutely terrific (previously almost naked)
the morning glories started overtaking them in early july and i tried to get them under control, but i strained my back trying to pull them and was standing at a weird angle or lying down for 10 days
anyway dh acompanied me (which is a first) to the nursery and i bought pentas, and 'periwinkle' and the lawn crew planted it, after they cleared out the morning glories
it looks great
the back yard is ok, but just ok and that's with me dragging the hose around and providing each plant with 30 minutes of my own form of drip irrigation every other day
my absolutely best performer is the bird of paradise (mine is yellow and orange) they love this heat and the butterflies are flogging it, i wish i had several of these plants though they have to be petted in the winter, they thrive in the heat and humidity!!
i'm praying for rain- the last drop we had was in april -- when we got 18 inches

I live on the aquifer and there has been just this side of no rain out here. Since we are on solid rock it's not so much how much you water as it is how often you water. We are also in stage 2 restrictions so we can only use our sprinklers once a week during the specified evening/night hours or we can hand water. So you an tell what I've been watering by the ring of green grass around it. Good thing I hate bermuda or else I'd be sad. The roses are holding up wonderfully. Well the David Austins are, the Belinda's Dream (earthkind rose?) looks like brown potato chips. The rest is pretty much dead. My confederate rose is way way daed. All of my angels trumpets are hosed. The camelia is trooping on along but I think that's because I planted her in full shade. The trees are doing fine, the new Jacarunda is going like gangbusters and the weeping mulberry is just starting to show stress on the edges of her leaves. The weeping japanese maple too, just a wee bit crispy. As long as I keep up the hand watering at least every other day (who has this kind of free time?) I think it'll survive. Here's to hoping I lat that long. What is up with 100+ degrees every single day?! Does it stop? Ever?!

Well, I'm sorry to say that my garden looks absolutely terrible. With 100+ degrees, no rain, tons of company (and more still coming), a funeral, and several inside projects this summer, my yard is looking a little sad. I've held on to most of what was established, but the new plants are really suffering. We try not to water much as we are on a well that services three families. It's hard to remember that we had a cold, wet spring!

My plants looked so-so a couple of weeks ago, but are withering now - even the established plants are in danger of dying. Except for those listed below, everything looks as if it needs IV fluids. Maybe others would look better if I watered more, but I'm really fond of flushing my toilet when I need to.

cenizo, bulbine, salvia greggii, ruellia, esperanza, lamb's ear, blushing knockout, and lantana

I've dropped to Saturday & Sunday watering in the morning and late evening. We use sprinklers on the front lawn and front foundation beds, but set them to hit small sections at a time to limit evaporation. The pain is that I have to move it all the time. In the back, we've given up on the lawn, and I'm only handwatering individual plants with a watering can to direct the water to the root system and nothing else.

I almost lost my Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum that I planted in late May. Its about three feet tall and was in a 5gal container. I didn't water it appropriately in the beginning, and all but the lowest branch completely died out. At Green Mama's recommendation, I started watering once a week on a trickle for a few hours, moving it around the ground from time to time. Not only did it stop the die-off, but I noticed that I have the smallest of new growth an inch *above* that lowest surviving branch. That & a gifted Hot Cocoa rose bush that survived the transplant are my only success stories of the summer.

I have a handful of other smaller plants recently given to me by two new GardenWeb friends, and I check them constantly to keep them healthy until I can move them to permanent homes in September (I'm sure it'll be that long) b/c I don't dare plant them now.

I think this summer is definitely going to help me redefine what I'm willing to do to ensure my garden's survival and what plants I shouldn't even bother with.

~ freshair

Newbie here, glad I found this forum!

We've had 100 degrees plus for the last several days and it looks like we will be having more of them, with no rain in sight. That being said, I've been trying to keep my plants alive without running up a national debt sized water bill....

Most of my perennials are doing okay, but if I don't water at least every other day, (preferably every day) they really show the stress. I lost a couple of skullcap, I guess they didn't get watered enough before the heat wave hit. I added more mulch about a month ago, but I'm wondering, how much mulch is enough in this heat??

We have a sprinkler system, which works great in the front yard, but the back yard never had done well, even with the sprinklers adjusted and running fine. I've resorted to making raised bed gardens where the grass doesn't grow well and have had some success with that. Every year, the four o'clocks seeds get spread about and they grow well, except for now, the heat is taking it's toll. Since they are so prolific, I have avoided watering them. We have dogs and their accompanying dog trails around the fence line. My goal is to eventually get some raised beds in those areas to break up the speedway the dogs have in place along the fence line. They seem to avoid running the fence where the current raised beds are, so that's a good thing!

The vegie garden is about shot, except for the okra, which seems to thrive in this heat. The tomatoes need to be pulled and the beds worked over in preparation for fall tomatoes. I tried the square foot garden concept this year and the tomatoes did very well as opposed to the row concept I had been using. My squash died out a long time ago and the peppers just are not producing. I have one lonely cucumber and a few straggler tomatoes, but lots of okra. The mint is also doing fine, as are the gourds, onions and asparagus.

My lilies bloomed, but I'm worried about my Lily of the Niles, they are starting to look stressed. I found some Stella d'Oro day lilies at Lowe's on the clearance table and they are blooming just fine!

The best the yard has looked in the last month was when we got about 1/2 inch of rain about three weeks ago. Perhaps we all need to go out and do a rain dance!

This was a terrible year to try wintersowing for the first time. I had lots of new little plants and have been able to keep only a small number of them alive. I've got no blooms on passion vine, cross vine or blue sky vine. No blooms on a Brug which isn't really growing much. Purple hyacinth vine is doing well, as are daturas (which I've never grown before). I need to just pull up what is left of the garden. I planted yellow Knock Out Roses for the first time and they are doing well. Overall it is a depressing situation in the flowerbeds and garden. I'm not sure whether or not to try to plant seeds for fall flowers or not. I'm not even considering a fall garden and am thinking about just growing tomatoes and forgetting the rest of the spring garden for the future. I feel sorry for all the people in this area who tried gardening for the first time this year due to the economy.

Don't worry ya'll I washed the bike last night, so it's sure to rain this weekend!

Our yard is doing OK. It's just the wife and I, so watering once a week with the irrigation system isn't hurting our water bill too much.

My few plants are hanging in there. The geranium still looks fine.

Droop, revive. Droop, revive. Pretty much a daily routine, between waterings. Mostly the potted stuff, but a few things like the coleus, that are in the ground, as well.

Nothing much really LIKES 100+ heat. A few things are more tolerant than others. My dianthus are still hangin in, though. May be able to look forward to a new bloom period as soon as the temps drop in the fall. For now, they are still blooming, but much more sporadically.

We are also on watering restrictions, but our times we cannot water are between 10 am and 6 pm. okokok - I'm surprised you're watering so frequently - I wouldn't want your water bill, but I'm sure your plants are looking great. A friend of mine has the yellow bird of paradise tree in her yard and it is beautiful.

When I heard on the news that there is a really good chance for rain on Saturday, I was thrilled! It is also supposed to cool off about 10 degrees for the next few days too which is a relief from this 100+ degree weather.

I mowed our yard last night and pulled the hose out to water a lot of the stuff in the backyard by hand since some of it was wilting. It is perkier today, but still suffering in the heat. My St. Augustine looks like it is curling up in the heat, so I know it is time to give it a little water, but would like for the rain to irrigate the lawn, so I can water what really needs it by hand and let the rain do the rest this weekend.

denisew, the every other day watering is for the new plants-mostly, back before things got soooooooooo dry, we watered every 5 to 6 days on the lawn and every 4-5 days on the beds
this house is almost thirty years old and i'm certain there were no soil amendments made during the first 23 or 24 years--we have almost total sand, the soil is frieble 4 feet down, so what REALLY needs to happen is the entire landscape needs to be pulled out and the soil amended all over the yard, i don't see that happening til i win the lotto, so we're stuck with watering if we want to have any grass or shrubs,
we also have 21 trees on the lot and they pull a lot of water, we've been trying to reduce a few of the trees, but that is like the only thing the homeowners association will absolutely throw a fit about so we've been approaching that kind of slowly-we're averaging cutting about a tree a year
in the fall i'm hoping to add a few more shrubs, so i won't have to deal with the number of annuals (and when i plant those i'll add a bunch of compost/humus

I have about 12 plants in my veggie garden and I water for about 2 hours every other day. We haven't had temps under 101 in about 2 weeks. Most days it is 104 or higher. I have a drip hose underneath all of the mulch. My plants are doing well. One cucumber plant is being eaten or killed by some disease but the other one is doing well. Not sure what to do about the suffering one. Besides lack of water and scorching heat, any water I do give the veggies attracts every pest you can think of. They need water too. My Orange Guard is working but I just cant' spray it every day.

Anyways as for my yard! I have spent about 10 hours working on the already installed irrigation system. The previous owner put it in but it has been unused and broken for a while. After replacing many sprinkler heads, figuring out what valve goes to what, capping off valves, and playing in the dirt...ALOT....I am almost done. Of course now my water hose leaks and therefore I can't leave it on all the time to set it up on the timer. Go figure. So now I have an alarm that goes off 5 minutes before the sprinkler system starts so I can go turn on the water. Whheewww! Such is the life in Texas. Needless to say my grass is beyond dead. I'm hoping I can bring it back to life. But hey we have a 40% chance of precipitation in like 3 days. Maybe we'll get some spit. :)

It's not looking too shabby in the front, as that's where our new bed is and I'm really babying those plants. It looks like we may have lost half of one of our dwarf wax myrtles, however. Need to prune out the dead stuff and see if the healthy remainder will take over. My beds in back don't look as good, but as the plants are established, I think they'll be ok once the temps become a bit more tolerable. My huge, beautiful aralia in the back slumped over a couple of days ago and just looks miserable -- I really hope it perks up again, as I'd hate to lose it. I water most of my container plants daily. They just dry out so quickly, especially when that hot breeze blows throughout the day.

Praying for rain! ;-)

Well we got some rain overnight here in my part of Texas and it was quite a relief. There is a chance for more rain tomorrow - Thank goodness! I hope the rest of you get some of this rain coming through with the cool front.

This is my first year at my new house and I put in 4 raised beds in the back yard and 1 in the front. I have battled one thing after another -- from that March 25 hail storm to late freezes that we had in Austin to stink bugs and birds and squirrels eating my veggies. Now this oppressive heat!
Tomatoes (especially the cherry maters) are done. Even tho there are blossoms, they aren't going to set fruit. I'm hoping that I might get some more on my black krim or solar fire, but i don't think so. Eggplants never thrived. Rose mallow, 4'oclocks, brugs, white datura droop and sag in the heat even though I hose them down in the a.m. and p.m. An African daisy I bought this year has never flowered. Stella d'oro daylillies have stopped flowering. My green beans never produced this year. Poppies never took off.

The good news stories (meaning what's making it despite the heat): I got SIX cantaloupes! Okra are producing, but peppers are very slow growing. Zinnias, milkweed, texas star hibiscus, Cosmos, celosia (cockscomb) and sunflowers are holding up well. A miniature rose is flowering in a pot that I water everyday. Another golden climber rose, also in a pot, has flowered in 2 months.
I'm watering with a soaker hose twice daily. I put in a rain barrel about a month ago, but of course, there has been very little rain.
So it hasn't been a great first year for me. I'm planning ahead for a fall planting. Weather forecasting are saying we'll get a wet fall and winter from the El Nino effect.

Down here in the Austin area we're hurting too.

Even with watering, I'm finding out quickly what plants won't make it here. Our Shell Ginger is looking like our latest casualty. I'm not sure if it's coming back. :^(

Our Oleanders, Cenizo and Lantana haven't missed a beat though. Tough buggers!

Most of the plants are just kind of "getting by" though. Hopefully our slim rain chance the next few days will amount to something!

Both buddleias are looking horribly parched. My salvia B&Bs are starting to look like the "poor unfortunate souls" (hear: behemoth octopus voice). Even my Firebush and a couple of smaller lantana are in danger.

On the other hand, the agastache I thought had died is making a comeback, & my Lady in Red salvia just bloomed for its first time this year. My white guara and blackfoot daisy that were whacked by 6-8 inches two weeks ago look incredible and are blooming again.

The predicted rain kept skirting us all last week. We got a few brief sprinkles, but no rain.

~ freshair

I'm worried about my trees. The shade they cast is the only thing keeping the rest of my plants going.

It's so frustrating to see a band of storms coming and have it dissipate right as it reaches the edge of our county--or part like a curtain, then join up again after it's passed us. This has been happening a couple of times a week for the past 2 months.

Weather.com keeps predicting 60% chance of rain about 10 days out, then it goes down to 40% when it's 4 or 5 days away, and by the time the storm reaches us it's just 20% and we don't get a drop.

All my laundry water is going onto my gardens. I bought a few plants at Lowes today for $1 each. DH pointed out that we'll probably spend $20 in water trying to keep them alive. Too true. . . Â Â :-

tree lover, if i were you, i'd water all night long for the trees. A lot cheaper than removing dead trees. One time a month is all is needed but it takes a lot of water. one inch of water is 600 gallons per 1000 sqft to drench 6-8 inches of ground. Depending on sprinklers, it takes hours and hours.

I just found this forum while searching for an answer to controlling these horrible root knot-forming nematodesI discovered today in my 25 year old veggie garden. I am excited to see so many people in this discussion- and have a veggie question - in this heat (outside of Austin) does anyone find that their eggplants have stopped blooming? My tomatoes, peppers and sweet tatoes are going strong (drip irrigation system 2 gall/hr, watering 1 hr every 2-3 days) but even in partial shade, my eggplants just 'exist'. (Beans and all squash but butternut are done too)
Another note on trying to keep things alive in this severe drought- we live on well water and have learned over many years to just 'say goodbye' to some things- it's not a matter of how much it costs to water, we just don't have the water- and I think that is going to happen more and more to folks, regardless of their ability to pay a water bill- watering restrictions are just going to make it impossible. But, the comments I've read here about heavy mulching, drip systems and making sure your soil is full of organic matter all help out.
Thanks for any thoughts on the eggplant (and nematodes, if anyone has any answers!)-

My butternut squash did nothing this year, and I got one duck-egg sized eggplant. It hasn't bloomed for a while. This is my first year of growing that so I didn't know what to expect. I'm not much of a veggie gardener . . . someone else here may be more help.

After 2 or 3 years of drought, at exceptional level since last year, I've learned to be cynical about predictions. So if El Nino really is happening and it really does change things, fine. But I'll believe it when I see it. It's not the first time they said La Nina was over...last time they were WRONG! This is the worst summer I've seen. It's been a while since we got any real rain...it goes elsewhere. The heat and the intensity of the sun this summer is really bad! Some plants just curl up and die or go dormant. The tomatos and beans are alive (shielded from some of the sun by shadecloth) but even when they DO bloom, they are not setting fruit. Until the temps are lower, nothing will happen. So, only the drought superstars can be counted on to do anything these days. For the most part, if it survives, I'm grateful. If it's green and flowers, I'll love it forever and a day!

Such a hot dry summer here in Austin. I live on a creek that has dried up for the first time since we moved here 10 years ago. It's not so much my beautiful St. Augustine and annuals I'm worried about, but my trees are looking very bad. I've already lost a couple of young pecan trees. We have a huge elm tree that is shedding a lot of leaves now. I just don't know if I can water enough to keep them alive. Evidently I made some good choices in perennials because they are doing fairly good. The bed is heavily mulched and every well established. I have hardy hibiscus that are really showing off this summer. I have put off any kind of summer pruning or thinning. Anything to give them a little more shade. We havenÂt mowed in 3 weeks, IÂm kinda afraid to, it might cut all the green off the top and leave us with hay. I have noticed that people who mow their yards weekly are having a harder time keeping them green. I really donÂt want to start all over on lawn grass. If I do I will replace it with something more drought resistant. Although I do love that beautiful St. Augustine. I have double potted all of my hanging baskets and still had to set them on the ground in shade to keep from watering them every day, cause frankly folks it's just to dang hot out there for me. I also started bringing plants back in the house to save them. It's just so sad to have to decide on who lives and who dies. They say we are supposed to have a wet fall. If not, I think we are going to lose a lot of trees around here.

Linda,

Yes El Nino is really happening but will not really do much until Fall/Winter. El nino means wet fall/winter. La Nina means dry fall/winter. I don't think they do much in spring/summer from what I've read. Right now, you just have to curse at the weather you're getting. Much like what I did during 2005-2006 severe drought in DFW area. 2007 year was when it rained a lot that filled up all the lakes in that area. Relatively normal since then.

Here is a link that might be useful: Info about La Nina and El Nino

This drought will be remembered as the worst...records are being broken around here constantly. In nearby San Antonio...the dryest 2 years ever in recorded history. Almost certainly will have the most triple-digit days for summer ever recorded. I still don't trust the weather people...not about El Nino, not after the last time they said that. I'll believe it when I see normal rainfall for at least 6 months. I live in the country and went to a little store for food today, 8 or 9 miles away. There were some Escarpment Black Cherry Trees along the way with all their leaves withered and brownish. I've never seen that before. I hope the ones out on my property don't die, so far they're hanging in there, with no water. I am going to remove some plants in my yard that really need too much water. I need tough xeriscape plants, not plants that can't take the heat or the less frequent watering!