I live in Jersey city 7a and have a mixed woodland garden that is heavy clay with some soil amendment.
I never water unless I planted something new and only in that area. And unfortunately this year the rudbeckia are being hit rough with what has been 3 weeks of intense heat and no real deep rain.
I want to water so badly because I love their bright yellow colors! But I can’t bring myself to water when everything else is doing fine. So is it my clay soil? Is the garden just to pact and some things fail?
And then if this is just after 3 weeks of a semi drought home girls will look fried in the future when we have more intense droughts. Do I just pull them out now and cull them? And plant something else in these spots?
Any advice would be great!
by Oap_alejandro
38 Comments
I say just water them. A spot watering in a situation like this pales in comparison to all the lawns getting watered all around you.
Go ahead and water them! Might as well, as they’re in your yard and you can. Of course they probably will still survive, but given that the rest of your neighborhood is probably mostly turf grass, Japanese maples, and rose of Sharon (mine is!), might as well help the natives when they need it.
I’m not sure what the problem would be with watering—or what there would be to gain by not watering. If it’s about water conservation, consider the amount of water it would take to raise replacement plants. There’s a price to everything. I personally don’t mind paying for habitat with water when necessary. I don’t plant swamp plants in dry areas, of course, but I get the sense that you’re extremely conscientious. Water your plants if it will save them and bring you some joy. You could always take a short shower to offset the few gallons you use to water.
Just my musing here. Keep doing good work.
Why not just water?
Do it!
i think the question is, what’s most important to you? are you hoping for lots of different colors and biodiversity? then water and help them out. is your main goal to let nature do its thing and see what survives? then dont
It’s fine to water those, especially if there’s no rain in your forecast.
I saw someone point out the other day that they can *survive* without being watered, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to get an aesthetically pleasing plant. It’s okay to give them some water, especially to keep it looking nice in a neighborhood to encourage others to plant native!
I have a portable dehumidifier in my basement that fits this exact need 🙂
Do you know the species? Some rudbeckia prefer more moisture (R. subtomentosa), some prefer drier conditions (R. triloba).
I use a 1 gallon milk jug with a small hole and water them in the evening. This way you have a focus watering and maximize uptake
We are not perfect. I still drive a car. Go on vacation, have a TV. Eat sometimes out
All those activities do more harm than using 1 gallon of water
We do collect rainwater(450 gallons), have a rain garden. Stay away from battery powered tools and use extension cords
People on this sub are fucking unreal. Imagine seeing your plants wilting and needing water and saying you don’t want to water them. Dear god…
Water it and water it deeply so it helps your roots grow deep and strong. Do what is best for your small patch of pollinator paradise knowing that you are supporting the native wildlife in your area and not a miserable monoculture lawn.
We had a period of days in upper 90s here in Northern Virginia recently, but we eventually got rain. My Rudbeckias wilted a bit in the late afternoon, but perked back up next day. Was pretty much rinse and repeat that whole week.
However… Three weeks of heat wave with minimal rain? I’d do a single deep watering.
If this is about avoiding over-watering, when they’re showing external signs of water loss, it’s okay to water them
It takes about 2 gallons of water for my kitchen tap to get hot water. I collect that water every time, and use it to water plants with. If you’re concerned about conservation, this may be one thing you can consider.
Get a few rain barrels. That way there is no guilt with using tap water.
Don’t feel guilty about watering your garden! You’re not in a watering restriction, correct? Imagine how happier you would be with the look of your garden after it perks up with some water.
Do they perk back up after the shade hits em? A lot of my stuff looks like this during the day but is full and happy by 8-9pm.
I’d water them.
>*[chanting]:*
>”Wa-ter them! Wa-ter them!”
Jesus, I’d water. What’s the point of refraining???
We’ve had some major heat. Give them some water.
Just let the hose drip overnight or something. I did that during the drought last year and it brought in the frogs.
Just water them man you know your neighbors (and my dad) are dumping thousands of gallons on a useless lawn. I didn’t water enough last year and lost a year of harvest like 50 feet of black raspberries. One of these days I’m going to drill a hole in the house and send the shower water outside; 5 ppl in the house is A LOT of safe grey water
These are all or mostly shallow-root plants!
Give ‘’em a little drink, they will perk right up!
Are they droopy at night? If so, water. Maybe add a little extra mulch around the rudbeckia.
Why on Earth wouldn’t you water them? Do you want them to die?
bro just give em a little shower of water tn, im a bit north of JC and its been insane this summer so i can only imagine out there near the urban heat garden. all my stuff is in pots so they need semi frequent water anyway, but ive been doing almost daily watering the past 2-3 weeks cuz its hot as sin
I’ll send you some of our rain in southeast PA. I’ve had enough!
I’m surprised, here in central Jersey it feels like all we get is rain lately! 😮💨😮💨
water is a good plan! also i’m so sorry but i saw your shadow in that first slide and didn’t process that your arms were up and i genuinely thought you were in a hatsune miku cosplay
I don’t understand
Get some rain barrels then you can water them for free
By all means, water them!
I get the “don’t water once established” rule—that’s pretty much what I do.
BUT…rudbeckia are short-lived perennials that typically self-sow. So I’m guessing they just don’t have the more extensive root systems that other herbaceous perennials and woodies have.
Unless it’s compacted, clay soil is actually kind of awesome! It’s great for retaining and making available moisture and nutrients.
So get out there and give everything a nice deep soak.
I will water a bit during a heatwave. It’s silly not to. I understand your principles, and I follow them as well, but I also want my garden to be bountiful and to survive into the next year. A little help from a human doesn’t hurt.
I could understand not watering if you were out west, but you’re in Jersey, please correct me if I’m wrong but is Jersey really under any threat of serious drought?
always spot water when needed, that’s what gallon jugs are for!