Hi. We planted two 36" box Tuskegee Crape Myrtles back in early February. At that same time, we moved two Little Gem Magnolias because they were not thriving in the spot they were in. All trees looked great at first. Then the little gems leaves started to hang down yet it was flowering more than I'd seen it. I double checked with people and was told the drip system that was put on them was not enough for newly planted trees and I'd never be able to get them the water they need. We got a major heat wave and the little gems flower buds burnt before they could even open. So, I bumped up the sprinkler time from 7 minutes twice a week to 20 minutes every 3 days on June 16th. Fast forward to today and they all look WORSE. So, I went to the manual of the sprinklers and read what the max output is and then I measured one stream by putting a measuring cup under it for one minute. I tested a few and they seem to put out 3/4-1 cup per stream per minute. That is wayyyyyyy more than they are supposed to. Anyway, so with each sprinkle head having 8 streams and 2 heads per tree, thats 16 cups per minute... meaning I bumped them to 20 gallons every 3 days! Whoops! That can't be good for them, is it?

Here are the Little Gem Magnolias. The are about 6" around. The leaves are drooping and brittle.

Hardiness Zone 9, Sunset Zone 18. Northern Los Angeles County

Then here are the Crapes. One looks better than the other. Leaves are curling upward and crispy at the tips. These are receiving the same 20g of water every 3 days over 20 minutes.

You can see the streams of sprinkler water and where they land in the photo below. We want to get the soaker hose system instead so we can get the correct areas watered better.

Any insights are appreciated. Thank you!