Hang in there, it's going to be a rough summer for all of us in So CA. I would look into adding some clay and organic matter. Anything to hold the water. I am putting scrap wood down over mulch and covering with more mulch to hide the wood. Your plants will maybe get by with extra efforts to cool the roots. I'm going to pick off buds so the plant will not waste water on flowers until fall flush.

Hopefully, the rain will come this winter but until then, I'm not expecting anything to look good. In fact, it already is looking bad with big holes where plants used to be. I had to decide which roses would get watered and am removing the rest. Do what you can to keep them alive and improve your soils ability to retain water until the drought ends.

Yes I definitely empathise after going through the recent drought in Australia (1995-2007 approx). There was nothing we could do to keep any of our garden plants alive, everything died, even some of the huge trees. It was very distressing. We used greywater to keep only a few precious indoor/potted plants alive. Watching the news at night made me feel lucky not to be trying to keep livestock alive though, especially with all the incidents of farmers shooting all their stock and then themselves. Terrible times. I hope it rains soon for you :)

Sorry to hear Ingrid. Your garden is one of the most beautiful I have seen. I have water barrels in my garden to catch the rain for water shortages during the summer. It is the only way I can water if there is a water shortage warning.

On the thought of rain barrels, I was reading a local post (that I can not find to reread) and the writer said they had some crazy number of barrels, but they do not use anything but that harvested rain water til June. Now that does not really help since it does not heat up here til July, but if I help that water to start using in July............

Brown is the new green :) for lawns at least

The problem with putting out rain barrels is, at least in our situation, you have to HAVE rain to catch rain.

We have not had enough to accomplish much of anything. Any rain that fell here went into the garden. We have ZERO runoff. And there was so little cool in this winter past that anything we got was needed immediately.

Ingrid, I wish I had some encouragement to offer you, but even here at the coast, we have removed roses. It is a sad time.

We think the Teas and Chinas -- particularly the Found ones -- have a better chance of survival than most. Fortunately for me, those are the roses I love best. We'll keep what we can alive, as long as we can. And pray for an occasional wet winter.

1" of rain on a 1000 square foot roof would get you about 600 gallons. If we got 10" of rain in a season that is a lot rain barrels

I don't think I have had any run off moms place in the past couple of years either. But the idea of a bank of reinforced tanks hidden under a deck being filled by the rain gutters is appealing.

It is hard to see dead petals on the roses, but I think that after this week I will stop dead heading (ha like I dead head much to start with) and just let them rest til fall

I would seriously consider removing 'lesser' or much thirstier plants be them roses or others to concentrate any scarce supplemental watering resources just to some more precious ones. This unfortunate situation may well change in the future at which time acquiring and planting a new rose should hopefully be an enjoyable task..

Another thing to consider is to help some roses take their summer nap by defoliating them and not letting them bloom at all. I'm not sure which roses can stand this but it might be worth it to try and help them imitate what native plants do in arid conditions.

brightside, I remember your terribly long drought, and what you describe makes me ashamed of even complaining. That must have been a total nightmare, especially for ranchers who lost all their stock, i.e. their livelihood. I know some terrible things happened in Texas and some other states a few years ago where ranchers had to slaughter their herds since they had no food or water. Deer and other wildlife were equally hard-hit.

I've already removed quite a few roses for various reasons, including disease, and of those that are left only the very mature ones are allowed to bloom (not that most of them are). I've also removed some shrubs that were using too much water. I don't know where I could possibly obtain clay but I am putting down twigs and mulch and spot watering under that to keep the roses moist without using too much water. If I defoliated them their canes would burn to death, so that's not an option.

kitty, I've got those same bare spots where I removed roses, and it's not pretty, but I don't think this is the year to worry about appearance; survival is going to be the mantra for this year.

In regard to water restrictions it did my heart good to hear that Rancho Santa Fe is going to have to restrict their water usage by 35%. This community is one of the richest in the United States, with huge homes on even larger acreages, everything tended by gardeners, with no doubt incredible amounts of water used. Other areas in San Diego County are being asked to save much smaller amounts, so at least there seems to be some fairness to the system.

Ingrid, clay can be added as plain unused cat litter (calcined clay, no additives). If you have sandy loam as is common in California, 10-15% clay by volume will make some difference in water retention but the soil texture will still be friable.

I'm in coastal Orange County, and my soil is predominantly clay which is hard as a rock until it has been cultivated for several years (or emended). My roses are giving a good (though not great) display: Blooming right now, in no particular order, are the likes of: 'Souvenir de la Malmaison', 'Arcadia Louisiana Tea', 'Faberge', 'Will Scarlet' (mass bloom), 'Wilhelm', 'Maman Lyly', 'Cl. Pasadena Tournament', 'Vogue' (especially beautiful this morning), 'Arpeggio', 'Safrano', 'Leprechaun', 'Plain Talk', 'Pink Rosette', 'General Gallieni', two unknown Teas one of which is probably 'General Schablikine', 'Snowbird', 'La France de 89', 'Queen Christina', 'Joasine Hanet', 'Pergolese', 'Mme. Antoine Mari', 'Briarcliff', 'Portlandica', 'Jacques Cartier', 'Ivory Triumph', 'Charles XII', 'Duc de Bragance', 'Hermosa', 'Zalud House Shingled Raspberry', 'Cl. Masquerade', 'Mlle. de Sombreuil', 'General Stefanik', 'Cl. Jonkheer J.L. Mock' (just finishing a mass bloom), 'Archiduc Charles', 'Firecracker', 'Pink-A-Boo', 'Pink Puff', 'Duchesse d'Angouleme', 'Erinnerung an Brod', 'Amy Vanderbilt', 'Lullaby', 'Apricot Nectar', 'Tip-Top' or 'Baby Doll', 'Cafe Ole', Winter Magic', 'Pied Piper', 'Columbine', 'Elizabeth Navarro', 'Jaune Desprez', 'Casimir Moulle', 'Hawaiian Delight', 'Better Times', 'Coral Treasure', 'Occhi di Fata', 'Mandarin', and I think I saw a first blossom on 'Robinette'. I might have forgotten a few. (Edit: Oh, yes--a few more: 'Gold Glow', 'Nimbus', 'Lady Anne Kidwell', 'Ivory Fashion', 'Ripples', 'Moonsprite', 'Tom Brown', 'Alliance Franco-Russe', 'Anna Olivier', 'Devoniensis', 'Miranda', 'Lady Roberts', and 'Florence Bowers' Tea'.) (Edit #2: Also: 'Rose de Rescht', 'Cl. Cramoisi Superieur', 'Souvenir de Mme. Leonie Viennot', 'Fancy Talk', 'Golden Lace', 'Gustavus Vasa'. There, that's everything that's blooming this week.)

I use clay kitty litter to sink my elephant ears in pots in the water bogs or small pond. The special kitty brand with no clumping or fragrance additives is pretty cheap and pure clay. I haven't had any harm to my plant roots with this. Maybe you could find clay in bulk from a landscaping place that might be cheaper though.

The cheap litter special kitty from WM looks like this

http://www.walmart.com/ip/10293705?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227001218451&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40341819992&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=78301729352&veh=sem

Ingrid, did you ever get a drip system installed? I thought you mentioned that you were going to that in another thread. It's the only way to go in desert and semiarid conditions. Diane

I am so sorry your beautiful garden is suffering from the awful drought, Ingrid. Here in the southeast, I kept up with how bad the drought was there and how little rainfall you were getting because it almost seems as if s were suffering and needing the rains that didn't come. The lovely photos I have seen here and the helpful comments in your posts enabled me to have a rose garden of my own, and I am very sad for all the problems California gardeners are having.
kay

Oops -- a post came in between. Regarding Diane's suggestion: yes, or at least dripping hoses. I have hoses all over the property with a very slow drip, and I drag them from plant to plant about every 12 hours.

I use the Wallmart Special Kitty Litter (non clumping, fragrance free) on the bottom of the pond, and as a potting medium for all the pond plants. Plants have been thriving ever since. Of course they're immersed in water with fish waste. I have no clue how kitty litter affects a decomposed granite based soil. University of California recommends using compost for amending all soils; clay, sand, etc.

jannike

I guess something like this Turface clay will come out much cheaper than buying cat litter in bulk. Or this Imerys. Do a search for kaolin or calcinated clay, I'm sure you will find bulk providers to deliver in your area. Incorporating the stuff needs work though and it's better done before planting.

Hi Ingrid, I'm sorry to hear about your garden :( Here in the Bay area it has been surprisingly cool the last week and I did get a fair spring flush. I have a very small garden which probably helps. As a household, we're trying to save water by not flushing often and whenever I cook or rinse fruit/vegetables, I keep a large bucket on the floor by the sink. I wash all my veggies in a large bowl and tip the rinse water into the bucket. When it's full, I take it out and water the roses. It's quite surprising to see how much greywater can be saved! If there's leftover water in cups/glasses etc. I also put it in the plants. And of course, because we're flushing less, i allow myself to hand water a few chosen plants. What was interesting was going down to LA recently and seeing so many huge green lawns in Pasadena, where they seemed oblivious to the drought!

I like Kitty's idea of using logs to create basins and then cover

At a rare fruit growers meeting they talked some about "vertical mulching". Basically using post hole diggers to make a tube (hole) about 15" deep and filling with compost and putting the water in that hole. It feeds the plant plus holds the water better than soil. I plan on trying that techinque

I also flush less and have a large bowl in the kitchen where all the rinse water goes. I don't use a bucket, just take the water out when the bowl is full, since it's not far from the kitchen to the outside. I can certainly get the kitty litter but how do I use it in plants that are already in the ground? With some of the teas I can't even get underneath the bushes without being scratched badly. I gather that just using it as mulch will not be successful.

odinthor, I'm jealous, but obviously I can't change my soil. We haven't put in the drip system yet because there's a problem with one of the connectors and my husband is having trouble overcoming his inertia to address it. Meanwhile I'm moving around several hoses from plant to plant and drip watering in that fashion.

organic kitten, I'm really touched by your post. I'm so glad that you were inspired to have a rose garden of your own because of what you've learned on the forum. The drought has been difficult to cope with, but as time goes on we've had to get used to the idea and are developing coping mechanisms. Old dreams and ideas have had to be discarded and that can be a painful process, but learning to try new things is also challenging and can be satisfying when something works.

In drought conditions, I save water by fairly well abandoning the lawn. Even in non-drought years, I only water the lawn once a week; as the drought persists, I cut that back to every two weeks . . . every four weeks . . . just enough to keep some signs of life in it. Meantime, my standard practice in non-drought years for the rest of the garden is always to water very deeply. This trains the plants to send their roots deeply, so when a hot spell or even long drought does come, the impact on the plants is minimized.

I lament what the drought--or rather the irresponsible management of the drought--is doing to California society. Last week, when I watered the largely brown lawn for the first time in two weeks, some passing yokel, who probably has never cared for anything in his life and so looks for excuses not to care for anything as justification for his own laziness, decided to shout at me out his broken-down truck's window and enlighten me, with a hostile tone, that there was a drought. I'm not very fond of those bold souls who are anxious to join in the slaughter when it's not their ox that's being gored.

Odinthor, Some fine soul decided to write "Drought" (they spelled it wrong) with what is assumed to be round-out in some ones lawn a couple of blocks away from moms. Right about the same time the next door neighbor gave away something on CL and had the guy pick it up and comment on their nice green lawn. Their lawn is right over a leach field and the equivalent of a back yard since 80% of their yard space is no water or low water food crops. Some people miss the forest for the trees.

Quite so, Kippy. With their panic-mongering, the newspapers, faddists, and demagogues have put power into the hands of those who can only see things in terms of black and white. For them, it's not that we are to use water wisely outside--it's that we are not to use it at all, and if we do, we're "an enemy of the people," and they strike out ham-handedly at those perceived as such enemies without finesse, knowledge, or judgment because of the heady attraction of supposed authority and power. In the psychological motivation of those doing it, there's not much difference between writing "drought" on a person's lawn and lighting a burning cross there. It is time for the newspapers, faddists, and demagogues to start reining in their pawns.

Ingrid,
Powdered clays can be well mixed with water (a paint mixer is a good way) and the
sandy soil in the root zone drenched with it. Depending on the clay and
the soil, a degree of soil penetration will occur. Worms also help with
this.

Ingrid, thank you for posting this. I hope adding clay will help if or when you do it. That seems like a good idea. While I am in a very different climate, it is helpful to read various solutions. I think you are coping with the problem as best you can. Some things are out of our control. In time hopefully the drought conditions will change. Nothing ever remains the same. It would be interesting to hear from others who have added clay to their soil in your area.