How many gallons to water?

[adwizard]

Hi, I just had a 16 foot silver bismark transplanted in my front yard. I was reading an article that basically said if your bismark came in a 25 gallon container, you should use about 25 gallons of water a day to keep it watered and healthy for the first month or so. So what would the gallon size of water be for a 16 foot bismark? Any ideas? It was transplanted in a well drained area and professionally installed.  I've been spraying water gently around the tree and when the water starts to pool on the sand I let it seep through the sand and quit. I don't know if that's enough water or not for a tree that size. Any ideas? Thanks, I appreciate your advice. 

[SeanK]

A cheap 35-gallon plastic trash pail. Drill a few 1/4 inch holes near the bottom, then fill with water. Hopefully it takes a couple hours to drain into the soil.

[Merlyn]

@adwizardyou'd probably get more responses posting in the regular palm forum instead of the "Palms in Pots" forum.  https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/forum/1-discussing-palm-trees-worldwide/

That being said, Bismarcks have a reputation for being difficult to transplant.  The "25 gallons of water for a 25 gallon pot" is silly, it would be appropriate for some species but would drown others.  Bismarcks seem pretty tolerant of lots of water, I have a ~15 footer in the front "tropical bed" that gets completely drenched every single morning.  And a similarly sized one in the backyard is happy in the middle of my agave bed and gets very little water.  So, the short version is, they can handle a lot or a little bit of water and grow well.  I've seen other people recommend putting a soaker hose on them on "trickle" and let it run for several hours, 2-3x per week.  Just make sure that you are watering the existing rootball.  Right now if it came out of a 25 gallon pot it's only got roots in that small area.  It'll take up to 6 months to really grow out into the surrounding soil. 

You can start fertilizing in 1-2 months after planting.  Use a smaller amount than normal for the first dose, and a "normal" amount mid-spring.

[PalmatierMeg]

Hope you had a knowledgeable and competent nursery plant it and you have a solid replacement guarantee. Bizzies are notoriously root sensitive. I planted 3g pot-grown specimens in our yard and gingerly cut to pieces the pots around each one to avoid disturbing the roots. I wouldn’t have the nerve to try a large trunking specimen