On Friday, August 29, 2014 5:48:59 PM UTC-7, David E. Ross wrote:
On 8/29/2014 3:47 PM, Hypatia Nachshon wrote:



This is about a Santa Rosa plum and a Blenheim Apricot.



Planted same time; about 4-5 years ago. I assumed that at that age they would be living on ground water, but gardener told me contrary today! Horrified! Mea Culpa! Mea Maxima Culpa! Is he right?!



Plum is healthy-looking; well leafed-out. Apricot no; looks puny; suckers galore. I remove; they return.

Went on-line but nothing relevant to my question. They discuss baby trees but don't talk about watering 4-5 years old.

This is So Calif coastal. Anybody Up Here or Down There offer any wisdom?



Tx



HB

With the drought, there is likely NO ground water for your trees.

Could it -- lack of ground water -- possibly extend that deep????

Create a basin around each tree with an inner berm about 1-2 feet from the trunk and an outer berm aligned with the outermost branch ends.

Ewww...that's going to call for some realignment of other beds. But true, absorption happens at the periphery..

Flood the basin to a depth of about 2-3 inches about once each week; this should likely fall within your allowance for water usage.

They haven't formalized allowances as yet, but plenty of people who have been very conscientious,just out of social responsibility, are mightily ticked off that THEY might be subject to % reduction just like the wasteful ones. I hope it doesn't come to that -- the authorities should look at the record before putting it to the good guys!

The suckers on your apricot might indicate extreme stress on the tree.

Oddly enough, they proliferated almost from when I put thr apricot in -- way before the drought. Never at the plum, about 10 feet away! As I observed over the years, I kept thinking the apricot is just not as healthy -- something we can observe in other plants.

Ex: I had a cucumber that roared ahead of the others in the same row. I mean HUGE. Damn thing produced one little cucumber & then died!

Suckers should be removed completely, not cut away but pulled off at the
point where they sprout from the roots or rootstock.

Yep.

Tx

HB