the first conifers planted 2 years ago .. with a decent mulch.. should be free range this year... but for maybe a sip in severe drought ...

those planted last year... should only need water in the heat of summer.. and for sure in drought .... again .. with proper mulch ...

so you should be down to just worrying about this years ...

that is the whole point of planting trees... once you get them ESTABLISHED ... or past transplant shock ... they should be care free ...

this presumes you didnt buy 8 to 10 footers.. which would need longer to get established ...

is there a fence line?? would you consider a few strategically placed spigots.. to reduce the need to drag 500 feet of hose [been there.. done that] ... do you have any budget for such ......

ken

It's real cheap and easy to run pvc to spickets every hundred feet or whatever (you can purchase 100 foot hoses and whatever). You need to flush out the lines each fall or they'll freeze up. It's a very small depth the lines need to be buried, something like 6". You connect (don't know how) an air compressor to clear out the lines. My contractor explained this to me last year. A normal air compressor, nothing big or fancy, and I could clear out my entire six acres is I chose to use this method.

Ken probably could explain this.

Dax

There are as many watering options it seems as there are conifer cultivars. Each situation is unique and may or may not work for you.

Watering plants is one of the huge factors for when to plant trees in early spring to allow rain to help get them established. I've planted maples in the middle of summer and it's not an easy task to get them established due to lack of rainfall.

Also my approach to watering larger stock vs. smaller stock is different and my approach to shade/green house grown potted stock is different than field grown balled and burlapped plants. I'm going to be putting something together on this subject after some more trials.

right now I kinda made some homemade soaker hoses- with regular hoses and drilled holes into them and laid it all down is some areas- but it doesn't seems to be working so good- and regular soaker hoses don' work for me at such a long distance. good point though some trees have been there a few years in various sizes- some were 7ft when planted others around 3ft. This year some spruces are in the 3-5ft range-skyrockets and moonglows a little taller. Most have been Balled and burlapped. I was thinking of rigging up some pvc to a hose-like a five-way into some of the beds-that way I could at least water a handful at a time. thanks for the input-any ideas welcomed!
thetman

A couple of years ago, Ken Adrian described his water system (below). I planted 1,100 seedlings last spring. We had a drought so most would have perished without additional water. Pete and I used his post to create a water system for our land. This system is inexpensive, easy to install and maintain. Just blow the hoses out before you get a hard frost.
Ken wrote:

i have a perfect 500 foot square lot.

when i moved to my 5 acres .... i put in a main supply line [hired it out to a guy with a dragger/slicer .. versus a trencher .. there has to be a better term .. but i don't know it ....]

we put a main line straight across north south and three crosses. the lines look something like 2 capital H's right next to each other. He showed me how to install one spigot [insert a T... 3 feet of supply line, an elbow and a coupler and a spigot... with a stake to hold it up]. i placed them at about 50 foot intervals where i needed them so a 75 foot hose covered nicely between two spigots. that length is much more easily moved around the yard than 300 feet of hose.

You do not need sprinklers or drip for conifers .... waste of money IMHO ....

Bottom line ... except for the initial installation of the supply line .. if you want to hide it ... irrigation is pretty easy to do ...

BTW.. at the old house ... i basically did the same thing by using older aging hoses.. just laid down along the fence ... and a trip to the hardware store.. and a few plumbing fittings to make a T up .... and some pipe.. and clamped a spigot to the fence post ... meaning the supply line doesn't have to be buried.. if you can hide it ....

I bought a 20-gallon "pesticide tank" (you can buy whatever you want just so it fits in a small pull behind trailor) . It has a set of battery cables I hook up to my riding mower.

It's a system I use however like anything you need to be sure it will work for you. I may spend more money in gasoline over time, possibly plus I have to listen to a mower running for six or nine hours to do the trees here.

Dax

here is how to make a spigot

the whole
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the top
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the bottom
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so then the issue is.. how to get water out there .. this is my old setup .. that i gave to the neighbor .... she just runs hose on the fence line .... to the spigot ...

the above post tells how i hired a guy to put in a supply line... the idea came from visiting cemeteries.. where they magically have spigots popping up everywhere ... but that is a permanent application.. this one relies on some clamps and a fence.. and therefore is movable.. as your plants mature and dont need the water .... you could strap it to a temp T bar fence post ...

ken

nice info thanks-I was thinking similar to this- but I have alot of obstacles along the way (several beds and one large section is on the other side of the driveway-so basically I would have to go under it or stop short of it). a dragger/slicer would be much better than a trench digger-since the lawn is already finished. So basically run a bunch of lines and set up little spigot stations throughout the property-eliminating large lengths of hoses. I love the ideas- and the pictures! thanks
thetman

one line straight down the middle of the lawn ...and then T off a number of places ....to get spigots toward the edges ...

ken