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Turfgrass* (High Water Use)

Month Season Adjust % Days Cycles Minutes Total Minutes per Week
January 50% 2 3 6 18
February 50% 2 3 3 18
March 60% 2 3 4 24
April 70% 2 3 5 30
May 90% 3 3 4 36
June 90% 3 3 4 36
July 100% 3 3 5 45
August 100% 3 3 5 45
September 80% 3 3 4 36
October 60% 2 3 4 24
November 50% 2 3 3 18
December 40% 1 3 5 15

Traditional Shrubs & Trees* (Moderate Water Use)

Month Season Adjust % Days Cycles Minutes Total Minutes per Week
January 50% 1 3 3 9
February 50% 1 3 4 12
March 60% 1 3 5 15
April 70% 2 3 3 18
May 90% 2 3 3 18
June 90% 2 3 3 18
July 100% 2 3 4 24
August 100% 2 3 4 24
September 80% 2 3 3 18
October 60% 1 3 4 12
November 50% 1 3 3 9
December 40% 1 3 3 9

California Friendly Shrubs & Trees* (Low Water Use)

Month Season Adjust % Days Cycles Minutes Total Minutes per Week
January 50% 1 3 1 3
February 50% 1 3 2 6
March 60% 1 3 2 6
April 70% 1 3 2 6
May 90% 1 3 3 9
June 90% 1 3 3 8
July 100% 1 3 4 12
August 100% 1 3 4 12
September 80% 1 3 3 9
October 60% 1 3 2 6
November 50% 1 3 2 6
December 40% 1 3 1 3

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This suggested watering schedule is intended to be a recommendation to conserve water. This schedule may need to be adjusted to meet your specific landscape's needs, as it assumes spray-head sprinklers, clay soil, minimal slope, and no rain, for landscapes in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, California. Please see additional scheduling tips below.

Plant Types

Turfgrass: Cool season turfgrasses such as bluegrass and fescue. Warm season turfgrasses such as St. Augustine, Bermuda, and kikuyu.
Traditional Shrubs & Trees: This includes common garden plants like magnolias, palms, roses, calla lilies, philodendrons, and hibiscus.
California Friendly Shrubs & Trees: This includes most CA Native plants and other common plants such as oaks, strawberry tree, agaves, sages, lavender, and succulents.

Season Adjust %:Ā If your timer has a "seasonal adjust" or "budget" feature, then you may alternatively program your timer with the July/August schedule, and then use the Season Adjust % to easily adjust your watering to match the seasons. You do not need to add/remove water days!
Days:Ā The number of days per week.
Cycles:Ā The number of cycles or run times. For example: 3:00am, 4:00am, and 5:00am. Multiple cycles helps prevent runoff, and helps plants' roots grow deeper so your garden can grow better.
Minutes:Ā The recommended number of minutes to water which varies with the type of sprinklers used and the weather.

  • Spray-head Sprinklers - use the recommended number of minutes.
  • Rotating Sprinklers - multiply the number of recommended minutes per cycle by 3. Example: 3 minutes x 3 = 9 minutes per cycle
  • Drip - multiply the number of recommended minutes per cycle by 5. Example: 3 minutes x 5 = 15 minutes per cycle