California only, on purpose
How much water your California yard actually needs
Watering answers computed from the state plant database and adopted reference climate data, not copied from gardening blogs. Every number shows where it came from and when it was last checked.
Sections
- 01Watering schedules by cityHow many days a week you can water, which days are allowed, the hours, and what happens if you water outside them.18 suppliers
- 02Plant watering guidesHow much a named plant drinks each month, computed for all six California climate zones instead of one national average.20 plants
- 03Watering calculatorsSprinkler run times in minutes, and landscape water budgets in gallons against the state cap for new planting.2 tools
- 04Watering guidesWhat the state landscape rules ask for, which path applies to a project, and how the paperwork is put together.6 explainers
- 05Turf replacement rebatesWhat each California program pays per square foot to take out lawn, the caps, and the steps in the right order.5 programs
Why these numbers differ from a gardening blog
The state plant database, not a guess
Water needs come from WUCOLS IV, the University of California survey that California cities use for plan review. Not from a care blurb rewritten across a dozen gardening sites.
Your supplier, not your city name
Watering rules change at the water district boundary. Every schedule here is read from the supplier that actually bills you, with the ordinance cited and a date on the page.
The arithmetic stays on screen
Each calculator prints the line it computed, so the total can be checked by hand. When a field cannot be read without guessing, it refuses to answer instead of quietly picking for you.
Every section carries its own date · oldest on the site is August 25, 2026
See every page and when it was checked