Many homeowners don’t know the names of plants in their yards or
landscapes. Most can look at a plant and know if it is a tree, shrub, or flower
but not its name much less how often it should be watered and with how much.
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| This pyracantha was known as a “plant with berries” to a homeowner trying to calculate its landscape water use. Pyracantha does have berries but it is considered “mesic” in its need for water. |
Xeric plants vs Mesic plants
Lower water use trees, shrubs and flowers
are watered less often. They should get the same amount of water when they are
irrigated but don’t need it as often. That’s how xeric, or lower water use,
plants operate.
One way to find out if an unnamed
plant is xeric is to water it less often during the cooler months. In the long
run xeric plants are watered less often. That’s how they, and you, save water
in landscapes. If it starts looking bad to your eyes or dies, then it is most
likely not xeric.
Big Trees are Seldom Xeric
Another method is their size. Big trees
are seldom xeric. Xeric plants are not big. They tend to be smaller. The bigger
xeric trees and shrubs grow where water collects; arroyos, waterways, and
desert springs.
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| This young shoestring acacia is a 40 foot tall mesic tree from Australia that grows along waterways. |
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| This shoestring acacia was “topped” (not done that well I might add) probably because it was getting too tall for that spot. Shortening its height will reduce its water use but not how often it needs water. |
Big trees use more water than smaller
trees. This is true even if you buy one that is small and it grows big when it
gets older. Just like kids. You don’t know if your child will become tall or not
until they get closer to that size. Oh wow…which side of the family did HE/SHE
come from?
How to Reduce Water Applied to Your Landscape
During these cooler fall months,
start watering less often and see what plants start looking not so good. Try adding
more drip emitters to those plants looking not as good as you are watering less
often. This gives these plants more water but still less often.