Wow 60-80 gallons of h20 per day seems like a lot of water usage. I water my mounds every 3-4 days and even then I dont think they're getting close to that amount of water. They've never showed to be too thirsty either, and they're pretty big also. I've mulched my mounds with shredded trees though. They keep the mounds nice and cool and I think they help distribute the water more evenly. I also think they help to provide nutrients to the soil as it breaks down, but that may be causing me a slough of other issues in the future. My first guess is that it may be throwing my potassium levels out of wack, causing a Mg lockout in some. A true soil test will confirm whats going on.
Anyways, I'll be here awaiting for the pros to tell me how crazy I am.
I have temps now from 92 to 96, but my humidity is around 60%...
60-80 gallons a day sounds like a LOT, but I'm not familliar with his conditions...
I have bushes 6 to 8 ft tall and 5 to 6 feet wide, and I too, give them about 6 to 10 gallons of water apiece, every 3 days ....
But I use lots of leaf mold mulch on top of rich, loamy soil in the holes...