Tips for saving water in your landscape during drought

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On April 1, 2015, following the lowest snowpack ever recorded and with no end to the drought in sight, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced actions that will make California more drought resilient. Photo credit: ca.gov/drought

Standing in the usually snow-packed Sierra Nevada Mountains, Gov. Jerry Brown called for a mandatory reduction of water use across California the beginning of this month. For the first time in the state a required water conservation action has been called, shedding light on the severity of California's drought conditions.

At the direction of Gov. Brown the State Water Resources Control Board will require local water districts to impose a 25 percent water restrictions on all resident's water use.

Green lawns may become a thing of the past in California, according to Gov. Brown. (Photo credit: Faith Kearns, UC California Institute for Water Resources)

“People should realize we are in a new era,” Brown said. “The idea of your nice little green grass that gets water every day, that's going to be a thing of the past.”

These new mandatory restrictions have left many home gardeners to wonder what this means for their home landscape.

Reducing Water Use in the Garden

According to The California Garden Web, an informational website about gardening hosted by the UC Master Gardener Program, water use in the home landscape can often be easily reduced by 20 to 40 percent because overwatering is a common mistake by homeowners. Slowly start to reduce water supplied to plants over the course of a few weeks, giving the plants time to adapt to the change.

It is important for residents to remember to not introduce new plants to your landscape during a severe drought. Even California native plants aren't drought-tolerant until they become well established. When water restrictions are lifted and new plants can be introduced, select drought-tolerant varieties appropriate for your climate zone.

Planting in the fall as opposed to the spring allows plants to become established by winter rains. Residents should prioritize water use in their landscape, saving established trees and large shrubs first because they are typically more expensive to replace and require years to mature.

Understanding the water cycle of plants is useful for developing effective watering schedules and for recognizing and correcting signs of drought stress. (Fig 4.1 California Master Gardener Handbook)

The lawn should be given a low water priority. As Brown stated during his address, “nice little green grass that gets water every day, that's going to be a thing of the past.” The lawn is often underused and typically mismanaged with overwatering in the home landscape. Lawn can easily be reestablished over a short period of time, or replaced with ground covers, mulches or hardscapes. If saving a lawn is a must, remember to mow your lawn higher during very warm weather and only water at night between 9 pm and 6 am.

UC Master Gardener Program Offers Help

The UC Master Gardener Program has volunteers across the state, trained by University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE), available to answer the public's questions about how to save established trees, plants and reduce water use in their yards.

Many of the program's 50 county-based locations offer free to the public hotline services, home irrigation analysis and workshops for the public that are aimed at helping California's residents reduce their water use. Contact a local UC Master Gardener Program for more water saving information and resources.

Trusted Resources

The new second edition of the California Master Gardener Handbook from the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) is a great resource for drought tips and home landscape water conservation methods. With an extensive chapter dedicated to water conservation methods, best practices for irrigation, plant selection, and tips for protecting water quality in urban landscapes.

Another great option is to use the irrigation worksheet for homeowners that was recently developed by Dr. Loren Oki, CE Specialist, Landscape Horticulture with UC ANR and UC Davis. The worksheet is designed to calculate an irrigation schedule for a landscape zone for one calendar year.

Posted on Tuesday, April 7, 2015 at 10:01 AM

Comments: 5

Author: Melissa G. Womack

Tags: CMGH2 (1), Drought (8), Landscape (3), UC Master Gardener Program (16), UCCE (13)

Comments:

I killed my lawn last year thinking that it was a good thing to do in a drought. I am filled with shame & loathing that I did so without learning that grass is one of the greatest ways to sequester carbon. It's true that most people can reduce the amount of water that they use on their lawns, but I hope that we remember that our trees, shrubs & lawns also serve to clean our air, especially, as the state attempts to reduce it's CO 2 emissions. Private citizens shoulder the cost of planting & caring for lawns as opposed to government sponsored programs which subsidize emissions reduction. Let's not jump from the fire into the frying pan by killing all California lawns & gardens. Hopefully, the Governor will focus on education programs that teach the public how to conserve water & preserve millions of acres of carbon reducing lawns & gardens.

Posted by Beverly McKinney on April 7, 2015 at 5:21 PM

As UC Master Gardeners, we assist the public by providing research-based information to inform home landscape management decisions. All plants sequester Carbon. In the case of turfgrass, the maintenance of a healthy lawn requires water applied through less efficient application systems (e.g., overhead sprinklers) and may be managed with equipment that emits carbon into the atmosphere (e.g., gas powered mowers). Turfgrass certainly serves an important function in the environment but in times of extreme drought, we have minimal water to apply to our home landscapes. Some individuals are choosing to concentrate their watering on plants that are not easily established, like mature trees. Mature trees sequester carbon and can provide valuable shade for our homes during hot summer months. UC Master Gardeners are more important than ever as we support Californians to make informed decisions in their landscapes.

Reply by Missy Gable on April 9, 2015 at 11:48 AM

I am a lazy gardener and have over 30-years experience planting natives that don't require much attention or water. There are many very drought-tolerant native plants that could be planted in the fall and survive on little water, if monitored. Grey water or shower water captured in buckets would provide enough for certain xeric natives to get started. California natives also have many more advantages than other drought-tolerant plants from other places in the world, since CA. natives are acclimated to soils and climate and have important interrelationships with native wildlife, bees and birds. Some of our natives, such as oaks, have survived 100-year droughts, and some natives have not. Why not give the hardiest of natives a chance at this time?
California is home to more biological diversity than any other state in our country. Therefore, to sustain pollinators, other insects, birds and natural ecosystems, I believe it is essential that we replace water-thirsty lawns with the toughest drought-tolerant California natives we have access to. Otherwise, we will lose a lot more than just lush green lawns. We will lose a California legacy tied to native plants and sustainable, healthy ecosystems--a vast diversity of life.

Posted by Kris Randal on April 9, 2015 at 4:27 PM

Like Beverly (in the first comment), I am very concerned about the message to "not plant any new plants", while simultaneously ceasing to water lawns. I realize there are numerous middle-ground options, but many folks don't have the means, time, or know-how to implement them hastily. I do not have turf, but I sadly watch as many neighbors let theirs go brown, and that choice also begins the demise of adjacent foundation plants and front yard trees. Unfortunately, these typically get watered - only because of that lawn irrigation. To address climate change, many urban regions have vowed to double or even triple their tree canopies, but this "water message" manifests itself as environmentalty contradictory. In San Diego County, we have few abundant native trees, so it is even more essential to prepare for a transitional period of grass conversions, and immediately start planting alternative water-saving trees, shrubs and ground covers. If nothing gets substituted during a Drought Stage 2 plan, advocacy to replace lawns permanently then translates into a blend of quickie, artificially green plastic rugs, and heat-inducing coarse gravel mulches that do not mitigate urban heat islands, nor store carbon, clean our air, reduce stormwater runoff, or create corridors for wildlife. Gravel is especially difficult to remove later, and its surface area magnifies and traps heat; and fake grass is costly, and truly NOT sustainable. During year one of change, sensible educators need to tout smarter watering strategies, and that our home gardens are assets, not liabilities. Without plants there is no transpiration, and without adequate transpiration, rainfall ceases.

Posted by Robin Y Rivet on May 1, 2015 at 7:10 AM

These are some great tips, and I appreciate your advice to gradually lower the water you use in your landscape so your plants have time to adjust. My area is in a drought right now, and there are new restrictions to how much water we can use. I'll definitely try to reduce that amount over time, so my plants can remain healthy. Thanks for the great post!

Posted by Kyle Ross on October 9, 2015 at 1:29 PM

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Tips for saving water in your landscape during drought

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