Are you going to be bringing a pump truck out there? If it's on public land, you likely can't build a water collection structure there. But a pump truck would work. You will need to get out there on the regular, a couple-few times a week as they establish depending on the weather. Less frequently after that.. though as the caliper of the trunk increases, the amount of gallons for watering does too.

Maple trees in SoCal...what a beautiful thought.

@beesneeds How do i obtain a pump truck? Can i rent one?

@BillMN-z-2-3-4 Maples in socal does seem like a bad idea. But with a will theres a way. Theres actually tons of very large Silver maples planted decades ago in the area ,that still do fine without irrigation. Im worried about the Sugars and the norways

I don't know where you go around you. Around here the most likely source would be at a farming/ComAG equipment place. I've seen lots of folks with IBC totes and some more regular looking round ones that load them up into the back of their pickup. They have a small genny and pump in the bed too for pumping out.

I use a IBC tote to catch rain for the front gardens. I don't try to move it, it's heavy and I don't have the equipment or need to do so. I use a 25 gallon barrel out back for watering in new plants. I use my lawn tractor and wagon to haul it.

I can see where the Acer saccharinum (Silver maple) once established will survive. They frequent very wet areas normally.

The Acer saccharum (Sugar maple) likes good soil like a deep clay loam and can suffer in poor dry areas with symptoms of decline showing up years after planting.

Acer rubrum (Red maple) is a water loving trees the grow best where the ground is consistently moist. They too will grow once established in dryer areas but also decline from the inside out after a while.

I know nothing about the other plants mentioned.

As far as a way to water:

A pickup trunk is an easy way to haul substantial amounts of water and if you know of a Bakery, Drywall business or some business they use and discard 5-gallon pails with lids, you can get quite a few (25?) in a pickup bed then fill and put the lids on.

Without the lids, you'll lose a lot of the water on a rugged trail, so lids are important.

Sometimes they will give you the pails or charge a couple of bucks and you usually have to wash them out of whatever they contained originally.

I've used 100 gal drums, 55 gal. plastic drums (that I bought for minimal amount from a salvage yard). I had for a while a RTV 35 gal sprayer tank with 12V electric pump that ran off my 4 wheeler battery. A little slow for a pump but it worked without the spray head to deliver a fairly good stream of water and I'd refill that tank with the 5 gal. pails.

So many ways to haul water but it takes a fairly heavy trailer to haul quantities of it. That's why if you have a pickup truck, you're already halfway there.

HTH

My primitive method would be to fill gallon plastic bottles with water and carry as many as possible in a backpack to a tree. punch a hole in the bottom and leave to drip slowly. It will be your pilgrimage.

I can tell you don’t care about the natural environment, or the effects your actions may have on it, but If I came upon such a planting I would return the place to its original state.

You could use a variation on what I use for plants in my yard. I have a lawn tractor, and a lawn trailer. I have collected enough buckets to fill the trailer. When the trees need watering I put the buckets in the trailer, and fill them at the house. I then pull the trailer to the trees in the back of the lot.

If you have a pickup truck, you could obtain several large container, and put a valve in the near the bottom of each. Fill the containers somewhere, drive the water out to the trees, and then with a hose attached to the valve in the container water each plant.

or you can simply use a hose as a siphon. no valve necessary.

Illegal Marijuana Grow!?

That looks a lot like the IE in which case is verrrrrrrry hot and verrrrrrrry dry…

What is your goal anyway? If it’s reforestation, you should be planting small specimens of diverse native species. If it’s saving the life of some trees you had to thin elsewhere, well, sorry to break it to you but life in all forms is cut short, aborted, prevented. That IS life.

May I suggest enlisting the services of a rainmaker? No rainmaker in the neighborhood , pray for rain. Not a believer , hire one of those firefighter planes to dump water on the trees.

What is the long term goal here?

I would be concerned you'll figure out a way to baby these along for 5 years then the first summer you take a vacation or twist a knee, all your trees dry up and die a painful slow death of dehydration.

There is one thing that has not been considered. Watering is one thing. How are these trees going to be protected from the native wild life? In your yard you can use things to discourage the deer, that mostly work.

Out in the public lands there is nothing to prevent small animals and deer for munching down on these new plants.

I always thought that was supposed to be part of the challenge of guerrilla gardening. That touch of civil trespass, no knowing if the authorites will notice or do something, the surprise of wildlife not under your control, the difficulities of remote watering. That sort of stuff. Kind of an eff you I'll do what I want on public lands, and less of a concern for the health or placement of the plants themselves.

That is what the OP is doing, guerrilla gardening. They ran out of their own property and decided to start dumping plants on what might be public property. That would make me hazard a guess they didn't bother checking to see who owns the spot they chose. I know they didn't get permission to plant. Maybe the watering will establish them, maybe other things will take them out.

What kind of land is open to being planted on without any restrictions?

Land that you actually own you can plant on. There might be restrictions if something is on a no planting list, there are water conservation issues, or planting by property lines, utility lines, proximity to structures, if there are easements or right of ways. If you are a renter and not the property owner, then the landlord gets to decide what may or may not be planted on the propery. If the property is part of a HOA, the HOA may get to decide what may or may not be planted on the property.

Land that is owned by other people or entities you may not plant on. Federal land you may not plant on. Municipal land you may not plant on. Privately owned land that is not owned by you you may not plant on.

Seeing something on social is not always a good reason to do it. Often enough it's a good reason not to do it.

@beesneeds So theres no collective ownership of any land in this country. Im not even a socialist and that is frustrating

Soumil,

'Public land' is just a term people use to describe land that is owned by the Government.

Sometimes it is open to biking, hiking and other outdoor activities, that's why they call it 'Public'.

You're paying taxes on it but they're telling you what you can and can't do on it.

Personally, I like to know what I'm doing before I do it, I'll find out what kind of land it is and who controls it and contact them for information.

If it is the SB National Forest, you are probably seeing signs along the trails you're using to enter it.

Frankly Soumil,

I really don't care what you do, I'm only concerned with you getting in trouble with the law. Ignorance is never an excuse.

I don't think those maples stand a snowballs chance in hell surviving anyways but you may as well put your efforts into something more positive and constructive than using resources to plant water loving trees in the desert.

You're probably watering enough trees on your own property if they are maples too.

Just my thoughts.

bill

Sure there is collective ownership of land. It's private ownership. A notable example is farming where farmers will get together in a collective. Like sharing the cost of equipment over multiple farms or several families collecting their farms together into one group.

But no, you don't get to do whatever you feel like on land that does not belong to you. Federal and municipal lands belong to those entities, not you. So you can't do things like plantings or changes to the property without the owners permission.

@beesneeds @BillMN-z-2-3-4

Just checked. This land is indeed private... 🤦 even if it is public i have learned my lesson.

I dont have my own property. Im 18 years old. Ill wait this out

Yeah, sorry to be bad news. It's a nice thought to want to do planting. But wisely.

If you want to get into land and plant management, there's lots of options. Things like landscaping and nurseries. Forestry and Parks workers and management. Botanical gardens and educational studies.

Beesneeds, made a great suggestion. See if UCR botanical gardens or a nearby nursery is hiring or get in touch with a landscaper who can offer you an opportunity to get started in the industry.

Soumil,

I admire your love for plants and willingness to work!

Don't give up.

Like beesneeds said, go around and look for jobs at plant nurseries, garden centers or forestry departments. Sooner or later someone will want a good worker and that's how we learn. We're all learning things everyday.

It would be good way to get connected with what goes on in the plant world. ;-)

I remember nursing a plumeria tree in a pot for a few years when I started university and it lived in a container until it was ready to be planted in ground. I had moved out of the dorms, into an apartment, and then finally started renting a home- all along the plumeria followed. It was finally 5’ tall and i took it upon myself to plant it in the backyard of the home I was renting.

That was not allowed either. I was young and didn’t think about it. Luckily the owner approved and kept it- it’s been there 10 years now.

Lessons learned. Those maples might not make it out there though. I’d remove them since it’s not your land and if you spent money on them maybe gift them to someone who can look after them better.

When you have excess plants, you can post them on NextDoor or a similar site. The plants will find a home and you might make a few $.

Volunteer to manage the landscape of someone elderly or infirm, who can no longer do it for themselves. You will learn more than a thing or two, and gain appreciation from those who have gone before you. Inevitably, you will one day walk in their shoes.