HikeArizona.COM

The endless chatter of weather.

Round 2?
New record wet November?

How much standing water and for how long can citrus trees take? Mine still have 2 inches at their base.

@Jim_H
They'll be fine if it doesn't rain for 40 days and 40 nights. They actually do better when deep soaked then dried off.

Oh, and I'm now 0.54" away from my yearly rain, with another storm in the hopper.

@Mountain_Rat
Well that is my primary concern, not drying out. They're sitting in what started as 4 inches of water, down to 2, and if we get more, that will probably be another round of similar. My intent would be to allow them to dry out for a few weeks before I would water, and that hopefully any additional water wouldn't flood them, but I am thinking they may have an extended period of standing water on them.

@Jim_H
They flood orchards, which then sit under water for a week, and that's intentional. Don't assume that because there's no water on the surface that there's none below it. the roots sit it water a lot more than you realize (in a normal situation). An 8 or 10 hour soak can take a week or more to perk out (depending on soil composition and irrigation repetition). That's in a perfect world. They'll be fine. And what would you be able to do about it anyway? Pour yourself a cocktail and watch a movie Jim.

Jim_H wrote: ↑Nov 22 2019 3:41 pm New record

It's El Warming Niña Change!

@Jim_H
My folks had citrus trees and received SRP irrigation at their home in Phoenix. As a kid I remember standing water in the yard for days on a regular basis. They were the best oranges and grapefruits I remember ever eating. The subdivision was on an old commercial orchard and the ground was rock hard from decades of flood irrigation. It took a long time to soak in. Your trees will be fine. I'm not an arborist, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn last night.

@LosDosSloFolks
An arborist would have slept in his car. Those guys are broke.

Well, if they end up with root rot, or some other disease where they die, so be it. I won't replant with citrus. Maybe something for shade, instead.

More water down here, with the model forecast, means way more for the all important Salt-Verde-Gila water shed, and possibly much more snow for the Peaks, White Mountains, and Mogollon Rim, where I would like to snowshoe this year or in January, if good conditions develop. Snowbowl and Sunrise can have their deep base for the slip-sliders, I'll head someplace without parking issues.

@Jim_H
Now you're talkin! Screw those trees. Citrus is cheap, but the desert needs rain.

@Mountain_Rat Well, the potted ones aren't exactly expensive, and I'm pretty sure that economically speaking the stuff in the store is way cheaper than planting and tending the trees yourself. Most don't even see a good harvest for the first few years. Frankly, I wanted stone fruit anyway, apricots specifically, but the heat island is warm enough lately that I don't know I get the minimum chill hours for a Katy Apricots, which is only about 100 hours.

@Jim_H
The problem with that is the birds will eat half of them. And I don't mean every other one of them, I mean one half of each fruit. I just buy my fruit a Fry's and get the gas points. A lot of problems solved in one convenient stop.

Mountain_Rat wrote:An arborist would have slept in his car. Those guys are broke.

The arborist who handles my trees is doing pretty well. Probably because he's so much better than the local competition. (But I've only stayed once at a Holiday Inn Express).

@Mountain_Rat Store bought citrus has no taste compared to fruit you pick directly from your tree. Can't wait till my blood orange, pink grapefruit, and tangelos are ready for picking.

@hikerdw Miss my Az sweets, lemons, pecans, white grape fruits, and my bird planted tai chili plant at my Az. home. I agree store bought fruit is no comparison to tree ripened.

@hikerdw
Agreed. With me, it's tomatoes & carrots. We grew our own veggies when I was a kid and those really stand out as irreplaceable. In that I just don't care for anything sweet, I guess I'm just not too picky about most fruit.

If the storm pans out wish I was in death valley-- projected snow levels down to 3000 feet. I would put a backpack on and run up to Panamint City and set up in one of the cabins. It was magical when I was in a mild snow storm in there years ago. [ photoset ]

@RedRoxx44
I have not been there since the mid 70's. Drove my land cruiser up there. Back then the F4 phantoms would run through panamint valley and break the sound barrier, I remember standing near that tall smoke stack when that happened and hopping it wasn't going topple over. Great place.

@RedRoxx44

That would be great to see. I'd definitely plan to be in the valley for a day or two, since getting out could be nasty.

Deluge not yet started in Gilbert. There was a breeze earlier.

They sure blew this Forecast. I opted not to go on a 4 Day Camping Trip over Thanksgiving. On Monday they were predicting Rain every day, so I cancelled it. Pretty Disappointed in how things didn't develop. This was my only chance to get away for the next couple of months....