Easy fix common to SoCal...just go to HD or Lowe's for "soil amendment"...mix it in.

It's the current drought that's responsible for the lack of absorption...like when there's flash floods in the desert...the ground is too dry and the water runs off.

Instead of daily light watering, do deep watering once a week; it will promote deeper root growth & improve your garden's drought tolerance.

Good luck.

Soil Amendment: Back east, peat moss or hardwood mulch mixed into the soil is most common. On top, folks usually put needled from LL Pine.

Watering: I would try to loosen the soil and water 3x per week for 1/2 to 1 hour. At this point the palms are D Y I N G of thirst. Come September drop back to 2x per week and then once per week. Next year a 2x or 1x deep regimen will probably do OK.

Kellogg's "Amend" is a common brand at Southern Cal nurseries, HD & Lowe's.

We'vew been having a drought problem here as well. I've had to water my in ground sabal minors to keep the soil. We'vew has about 1/4 inch of rain in the past 6-7 weeks.

Thanks for the recommendation on the Soil Amendment! I have to go to Lowe's on Thursday anyway! Perfect. I need to also get another thing of Palm Fertilizer. Should I get that there, too?

Yep- bad drought here, we had 3" all rain season! Record Low. BAD BAD.

Thanks again! - Terra

Other's might disagree, but I believe you can wait on the fertilizer until next spring. I would let the organic material from the "amendment" do the job for now; unless your palms show signs of some deficiency.

Below is a link to a recent thread about palm food. One brand I've seen, that's not mentioned there, is: ScottÂs Palm Food 15-5-15

Here is a link that might be useful: Previous Thread About Palm Fertilizers

Thanks for the thread on the fertilizers. I saw that the other day and made a mental note to read the posts. Headed to Lowe's on thursday when Jim gets off work.

Can I still use the Amendment on top? Or is that something where we'd need to move the bark, and dig up to mix? Well, I guess I can just read the bag when I get there, haha! Nevermind.

I got out the sprinkler manual last night and I think I am going to have Jim reset the sprinklers instead of daily to maybe every 3rd day. now I just need to figure out if I shoudl water once a day or twice a day. Does it really matter? Right now I had him bump the drips to twice a day for 10min each cycle, so 20min total. I see a tiny perk instead of wilt in my stuff, I think I see a tiny perk in my palms, but hard to tell yet.

So, it's slow but I think I am getting there with everyone's help!- Thanks! Terra

Watering daily is OK, it's just more work for you. The roots go where the water is...if you only keep the top 2 feet of soil moist with lite watering, your watering becomes a hobby in itself.

The best thing to do is promote deep roots by heavy watering (twice a week is fine) and although the surface may appear dry, the soil is moist 1, 2, 3,.....feet down and then you don't have to worry about your trees drying-out.

You're technically using the same amount of water, you're just letting it get deeper and you'll experience less evaporation because the water is below the surface.

The only way to fix your clay & drainage problem is to fix the soil itself; Amend or compost needs to be mixed-in. Redwood bark, on the surface, is mostly ornamental and will have no effect on the clay.

Drip irrigation is more useful for flowers and other shallow-rooted plants; for your trees, dig a "moat" around the tree, approximately along the edge of the rootball, and just let the hose keep running!!! Do not water during the heat of the day, water in the morning or afternoon.

Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kellogg's Amend info