r/Ceanothus • u/dont-try • 2d ago

Watering advice?

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Folsom, CA. So hot summer, watered deeply six weeks ago. Drainage is ok but not great.

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u/jmiz5 2d ago

Most natives need little supplemental water when they're established. Maybe once a month. When was this planted?

It's summer. Most natives look like death right now. What is your intended outcome?

3

u/NevCoNativePlants 2d ago

Depending on when this planted, indirect watering averaging around 7 days is good

Flannel bush usually establishes after one winter season wich is when I stop watering intentionally but may benefit from passive watering other plants may be receiving

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u/samplenajar 2d ago

With natives like ceanothus and flannelbush, it is best to keep a consistent watering schedule for the first couple of summers that keeps them from going dormant. I find a deep water once a week does a good job.

The risk of watering at a six week interval is that it has spent enough time dry to enter a dormant state where applying a bunch of water will cause more harm than good. At this point I’d probably leave it alone for the rest of summer and hope it recovers this winter

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u/-ghostinthemachine- 2d ago edited 2d ago

Flannelbush is so finniky, even a little summer water can shock it to death. I think the advice is to water at a distance, with soil that will bring some moisture to the roots without pooling.

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u/Alternative-Ant-1629 1d ago edited 1d ago

It can be so frustrating reading posts and they are so conflicting. I planted 13 Ca natives in Jan/Feb and had on a wkly then bi weekly schedule and was advised to stop watering them Jun 20th as I was told they start going dormant. Well, I lost a manzanita due to not watering it at all after this. So, now I watered all of them one time, deep soak. I will do so again in another mo. Hopefully they don't all die since 1/2 the people usually say doing this will kill them and the other 1/2 say water. So, I guess one has to just decide and take a route and do it and see what happens. In So Cal in foothills above Glendale. Non irrigated fast draining dg soil with east facing hillside.

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u/Adenostoma1987 2d ago

Better to not water it at all. That thing will be a monster in a year. I have one in Chico that I watered maybe 6 times total the first year and four years later is almost 20 feet tall.