Abyssinian bananaEnsete ventricosumShrub, Palm or cycad- NCH
- CVH
- SCH
- SIH
- HD×
- LD?
Palms and cycads rated for California: water needs by climate zone
Each plant shows its water use rating for each of the six California climate zones. Minutes opens the sprinkler calculator with the plant and a climate city preset.
Abyssinian bananaEnsete ventricosumShrub, Palm or cycad
Australia fountain palmLivistona australisTree, Palm or cycad- NCM
- CV×
- SCM
- SIM
- HD×
- LD×
bamboo cycadCeratozamia hildaeShrub, Palm or cycad- NC?
- CV?
- SCM
- SI?
- HD?
- LD?
Bismarck palmBismarckia nobilisTree, Palm or cycad- NC×
- CV?
- SCM
- SI?
- HD×
- LDM
blue hesper palmBrahea armataTree, Palm or cycad- NCL
- CVL
- SCL
- SIL
- HDM
- LDM
Bolivian mountain coconutParajubaea torallyiTree, Palm or cycad- NC?
- CV?
- SCM
- SI?
- HD?
- LD?
bread cycadEncephalartos spp.Shrub, Palm or cycad- NCL
- CV?
- SCM
- SIM
- HD?
- LD?
butterfly palmDypsis lutescens (Areca)Shrub, Tree, Palm or cycad- NC?
- CV?
- SCH
- SI?
- HD?
- LD?
California fan palmWashingtonia filiferaTree, Palm or cycad, California native- NCL
- CVM
- SCM
- SIL
- HDM
- LDM
Canary Island date palmPhoenix canariensisTree, Palm or cycad- NCL
- CVL
- SCL
- SIL
- HDM
- LDM
cardboard fern/palmZamia furfuraceaShrub, Palm or cycad- NC×
- CV×
- SCM
- SIM
- HD×
- LDM
central Australian fan palmLivistona mariaeTree, Palm or cycad- NC×
- CV×
- SCM
- SI?
- HD?
- LD?
chamaedoreaChamaedorea spp.Shrub, Palm or cycad- NC×
- CV×
- SCH
- SIH
- HD×
- LD×
Chilean wine palmJubaea chilensisTree, Palm or cycad- NCL
- CVM
- SCL
- SIM
- HD×
- LD×
- NCM
- CV×
- SCM
- SIM
- HD×
- LD×
cliff date palmPhoenix rupicolaTree, Palm or cycad- NC×
- CV×
- SCM
- SIM
- HD×
- LD×
clustered fishtail palmCaryota mitisShrub, Tree, Palm or cycad- NC×
- CV×
- SCH
- SI×
- HD×
- LD×
creeping pratiaLobelia angulata (Pratia angulata)Ground cover, Palm or cycad- NCM
- CVH
- SCH
- SIH
- HD×
- LD×
date palmPhoenix dactyliferaTree, Palm or cycad- NCL
- CVL
- SCL
- SIL
- HDM
- LDM
dwarf Chusan palmTrachycarpus wagnerianusTree, Palm or cycad- NCM
- CV?
- SCH
- SI?
- HD?
- LD?
Everglades palmAcoelorraphe wrightiiTree, Palm or cycad- NC?
- CV?
- SCH
- SIM
- HD?
- LD?
fishtail wine palmCaryota maxima (Caryota urens)Tree, Palm or cycad- NC×
- CV×
- SCH
- SIH
- HD×
- LD×
Florida arrowrootZamia pumilaShrub, Palm or cycad- NC×
- CV×
- SCM
- SIH
- HD?
- LD?
Formosa sugar palmArenga engleriShrub, Tree, Palm or cycad- NC?
- CV?
- SCM
- SI?
- HD?
- LD?
foxtail palmWodyetia bifurcataTree, Palm or cycad- NC?
- CV?
- SCH
- SIM
- HD?
- LD?
giant fishtail palmCaryota gigas (obtusa)Tree, Palm or cycad- NC×
- CV×
- SCH
- SI×
- HD×
- LD?
Guadalupe palmBrahea edulisTree, Palm or cycad, California native- NCL
- CVL
- SCVL
- SIL
- HDM
- LDM
Kentia palmHowea forsterianaTree, Palm or cycad- NC×
- CV×
- SCM
- SIM
- HD×
- LD×
Khasia Hills fan palmTrachycarpus martianusTree, Palm or cycad- NC?
- CV?
- SCH
- SI?
- HD?
- LD?
king palmArchontophoenix cunninghamianaTree, Palm or cycad- NCM
- CVM
- SCM
- SIM
- HD×
- LD×
Kumaon palmTrachycarpus takilTree, Palm or cycad- NC?
- CV×
- SCH
- SIM
- HD×
- LDM
Madagascar sagoCycas thouarsii (SHADE)Shrub, Palm or cycad- NC?
- CV?
- SCM
- SI?
- HD?
- LD?
Majesty palmRavenea rivularisTree, Palm or cycad- NC×
- CV×
- SCM
- SIM
- HD×
- LD×
- NC×
- CV×
- SCM
- SI?
- HD?
- LD?
matted pratiaLobelia pedunculata cvs. (Pratia pedunculata)Ground cover, Palm or cycad- NCM
- CV?
- SCH
- SI?
- HD?
- LD?
Mediterranean fan palmChamaerops humilisShrub, Palm or cycad- NCL
- CVL
- SCL
- SIL
- HDM
- LDM
- NC×
- CV×
- SCM
- SIM
- HDM
- LDM
Mexican fan palmWashingtonia robustaTree, Palm or cycad- NCL
- CVM
- SCL
- SIL
- HDM
- LDM
New South Wales macrozamiaMacrozamia mooreiShrub, Tree, Palm or cycad- NCM
- CV×
- SCM
- SI?
- HD?
- LD?
Nikau palmRhopalostylis sapidaTree, Palm or cycad- NC?
- CV×
- SCH
- SIH
- HD×
- LD×
Norfolk Island palmRhopalostylis baueriTree, Palm or cycad- NC?
- CV×
- SCH
- SIM
- HD×
- LD×
palmettoSabal spp.Shrub, Tree, Palm or cycad- NC×
- CV×
- SCM
- SIM
- HDM
- LDM
pigmy date palmPhoenix roebeleniiShrub, Tree, Palm or cycad- NCL
- CV×
- SCM
- SIM
- HD×
- LDM
pindo palmButia odorata (Butia capitata)Tree, Palm or cycad- NCL
- CVL
- SCL
- SIL
- HDM
- LDM
queen palmSyagrus romanzoffiana (Arecastrum romanzoffianum)Tree, Palm or cycad- NCL
- CVM
- SCM
- SIM
- HDM
- LDM
rock palmBrahea nitidaTree, Palm or cycad- NC?
- CV?
- SCM
- SI?
- HD?
- LD?
sago palmCycas revolutaShrub, Palm or cycad- NCM
- CVM
- SCM
- SIM
- HDM
- LDM
San Jose hesper palmBrahea brandegeeiTree, Palm or cycad- NCL
- CV?
- SCM
- SIL
- HD?
- LD?
Senegal date palmPhoenix reclinataTree, Palm or cycad- NC×
- CV×
- SCM
- SIM
- HD×
- LDM
Slender Lady PalmRhapis excelsaShrub, Palm or cycad- NCM
- CV?
- SCM
- SIM
- HD?
- LDM
slender lady palmRhapis humilisShrub, Palm or cycad- NC?
- CV?
- SCM
- SIM
- HD×
- LDM
spiny fiber palmTrithrinax acanthocomaTree, Palm or cycad- NCL
- CV?
- SCM
- SI?
- HD?
- LD?
stone gate palmTrachycarpus princepsTree, Palm or cycad- NC?
- CV?
- SCH
- SI?
- HD?
- LD?
Tibetan sugar palmArenga micranthaShrub, Tree, Palm or cycad- NC?
- CV?
- SCM
- SI?
- HD?
- LD?
triangle palmDypsis decaryiTree, Palm or cycad- NC×
- CV×
- SCM
- SIM
- HD×
- LD×
umbrella palmHedyscepe canterburyanaTree, Palm or cycad- NC?
- CV?
- SCH
- SI?
- HD?
- LD?
weeping cabbage palmLivistona decipiensTree, Palm or cycad- NC×
- CV?
- SCM
- SIM
- HD?
- LD?
windmill palmTrachycarpus fortuneiTree, Palm or cycad- NCL
- CVM
- SCM
- SIL
- HDM
- LDM
woolly butia palmButia eriospathaTree, Palm or cycad- NC?
- CV?
- SCM
- SI?
- HD?
- LD?
Photo credits, 56 images from Wikimedia Commons
- Abyssinian banana: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 (licence)
- Australia fountain palm: Schomynv, Public domain
- bamboo cycad: PeregrinusX, CC BY 3.0 (licence)
- Bismarck palm: Mmcknight4, Public domain
- blue hesper palm: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence)
- Bolivian mountain coconut: Daderot, Public domain
- bread cycad: Ton Rulkens, CC BY-SA 2.0 (licence)
- butterfly palm: KENPEI, CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence)
- California fan palm: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence)
- Canary Island date palm: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0 (licence)
- cardboard fern/palm: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 (licence)
- central Australian fan palm: Albinfo, Public domain
- chamaedorea: Kahuroa, Public domain
- Chilean wine palm: photo taken by SteffenMP (de:Benutzer:SteffenMP), CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence)
- cliff date palm: DominusVobiscum, CC BY-SA 2.0 (licence)
- clustered fishtail palm: Prenn, CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence)
- creeping pratia: gbohne from Berlin, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0 (licence)
- date palm: EJ Burns, CC BY 4.0 (licence)
- dwarf Chusan palm: Simon Thomas, CC BY-SA 4.0 (licence)
- Everglades palm: Mmcknight4, CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence)
- fishtail wine palm: H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence)
- Florida arrowroot: Daderot, CC0 (licence)
- Formosa sugar palm: Tangopaso, Public domain
- foxtail palm: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 (licence)
- giant fishtail palm: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence)
- Guadalupe palm: © Citron, CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence)
- Kentia palm: Black Diamond Images, CC BY 2.0 (licence)
- Khasia Hills fan palm: Oroussei, CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence)
- king palm: Bruce Paton, CC BY-SA 4.0 (licence)
- Kumaon palm: trsraman, CC BY 4.0 (licence)
- Madagascar sago: Polypompholyx, CC BY-SA 4.0 (licence)
- Majesty palm: Stickpen, Public domain
- matted pratia: Ghislain118 https://www.fleurs-des-montagnes.net, CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence)
- Mediterranean fan palm: tato grasso, CC BY-SA 2.5 (licence)
- Mexican fan palm: stekkelpak, CC0 (licence)
- New South Wales macrozamia: AYArktos, Public domain
- Nikau palm: Kahuroa, Public domain
- Norfolk Island palm: Kahuroa, Public domain
- palmetto: William Bumgarner (en.wp:Zsinj), Public domain
- pigmy date palm: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 (licence)
- pindo palm: Juan Manuel Barreneche, CC BY-SA 4.0 (licence)
- queen palm: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 (licence)
- rock palm: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence)
- sago palm: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence)
- San Jose hesper palm: Megan Hansen, CC BY-SA 2.0 (licence)
- Senegal date palm: Kahuroa, Public domain
- Slender Lady Palm: Aris riyanto, CC BY-SA 4.0 (licence)
- slender lady palm: KENPEI, CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence)
- spiny fiber palm: Henrique Mallmann, CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence)
- stone gate palm: Danerikk, CC BY 3.0 (licence)
- Tibetan sugar palm: W.A. Djatmiko (Wie146), CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence)
- triangle palm: Mmcknight4, Public domain
- umbrella palm: Kahuroa, Public domain
- weeping cabbage palm: Mark Marathon, CC BY 3.0 (licence)
- windmill palm: Taken by Fanghong, CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence)
- woolly butia palm: Erik Terdal from Tulsa, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 (licence)
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Zones: NC North-Central Coastal, CV Central Valley, SC South Coastal, SI South Inland, HD High and Intermediate Desert, LD Low Desert. Ratings: VL very low water, L low, M moderate, H high, ? not rated for that zone, × not suited to that zone. Ratings are the University of California WUCOLS IV list.
How to use this list
- MinutesOpen the calculator with this plant set. The preset city is in a zone where WUCOLS rates the plant. Set your sprinkler type and watering days.
- GuideRead a plant watering guide. Links appear for plants covered by our 1023 written guides.
- PlanBuild your personal watering plan. Put your plants and city together for monthly sprinkler minutes on a printable sheet.
Sources
- WUCOLS IV plant list, University of California, snapshot of the live databaseRead August 23, 2026 on ucanr.edu/sites/WUCOLS
- Appendix C reference evapotranspiration table behind the six zonesRead August 23, 2026 on water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Programs/Water-Use-And-Efficiency/MWELO-Rulemaking/Final-MWELO-Text-and-Appendices_20250103.pdf