Landscape Watering Guidelines

  • Effective irrigation system design, installation and maintenance are important.
  • Sprinklers should serve only the required turf areas and not spray on buildings, fences, or non-landscaped areas.
  • Watering should be done before sunrise to reduce evaporation losses.
  • Turf areas, planters, trees, and shrubs should be watered separately to meet varying water needs.
  • Always irrigate the entire depth and width of the root zone regardless of the time of year.
  • Once or twice a year, water twice as long to leach out salts that build up in our soils.
  • See the Landscape Watering Guidelines Flyer
Landscape Watering Guidelines for Established & New Plants
How Much &
How Often 		Seasonal Frequency
Days Between Waterings 		Water This Deeply
Spring
Mar-May		 Summer
May - Oct 		Fall
Oct - Dec 		Winter
Dec - Mar
Trees Desert Adapted 14 - 30 days 7 - 21 days 14 - 30 days 30 - 60 days 24 - 36 inches
High Water Use 7 - 12 days 7 - 10 days 7 - 12 days 14 - 30 days 24 - 36 inches
Shrubs Desert Adapted 14 - 30 days 7 - 21 days 14 - 30 days 30 - 45 days 18 - 24 inches
High Water Use 7 - 10 days 5 - 7 days 7 - 10 days 10 - 14 days 18 - 24 inches
Ground-covers
and Vines 		Desert Adapted 14 - 30 days 7 - 21 days 14 - 30 days 21 - 45 days 8 - 12 inches
High Water Use 7 - 10 days 2 - 5 days 7 - 10 days 10 - 14 days 8 - 12 inches
Cacti & Succulents 21 - 45 days 14 - 30 days 21 - 45 days If needed 8 - 12 inches
Annuals 3 - 7 days 2 - 5 days 3 - 7 days 5 - 10 days 8 - 12 inches
Warm Season Grass 4 - 14 days 3 - 6 days 6 - 21 days 15 - 30 days 6 - 10 inches
Cool Season Grass 3 - 7 days None 3 - 10 days 7 - 14 days 6 - 10 inches
Note: These guidelines are for established plants (1 year for shrubs, 3 years for trees). Additional water is needed for new plantings or unusually hot or dry weather. Less water is needed during cool or rainy weather. Drip run times are typically 2 hours or more for each watering.

Watering Schedule for Newly Planted Desert Adapted Plants
How Much &
How Often 		Spring
Mar - May 		Summer
May - Oct 		Fall
Oct - Dec 		Winter
Dec - Mar
Weeks 1 & 2 3-4 days 1-2 days 3-4 days 3-4 days
Weeks 3 & 4 6-7 days 3-4 days 6-7 days 6-7 days
Weeks 5 & 6 7-10 days 4-6 days 7-10 days 7-10 days
Weeks 7 & 8 10-14 days 7 days 10-14 days 10-14 days
After week 8 Gradually extend the time between irrigations until plants are established
Note: After the eighth week, move the drip emitters to the outer edge of the root ball. High water use plants may require more frequent irrigations. Water deeply to 24-36 inches for Trees, 18-24 inches for Shrubs, 8-12 inches for groundcover, vines, caucus, succulents & annuals, and 6-10 inches for warm and cool season grasses.