WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Cornus nuttallii, WUCOLS IV

How often to water mountain dogwood in California

In July in the Central Valley, established mountain dogwood in loam needs a deep watering about every 8 days: about 55 gallons each time under a 10 foot canopy, about 47 gallons a week. Mountain dogwood, also called Pacific dogwood, is a deciduous native tree of western forests and stream banks, the showiest tree dogwood of the West Coast. Large white bracts open in spring and the leaves color in fall. It wants rich, well-drained soil, some shade and cool, mulched roots, and a stressed tree is prone to disease.

TreeCalifornia nativeRated for 2 of 6 zones

How often to water mountain dogwood, month by month

Your city
Canopy width
10 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for mountain dogwood and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: established roots fill the top 1.5 feet of soil, and you water again when that soil has dried halfway. Loam soil holds about 1.5 inches of water per foot. Water the whole area under the branches, and skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure canopy width

A tree with its canopy width marked across the widest branches and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the branches, from the tips of the outer leaves on one side to the tips on the other. A tape works, or pace it out.

Water the whole circle under the branches, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that circle.

A wider canopy means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While the tree is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Soil dry 4 inches down under the mulch around a young tree means it is time for a deep soak
  • Leaves wilting or browning at the edges in summer over dry soil point to a thirsty young tree
  • Dark blotches on leaves and dying twigs after a cool, wet spring point to anthracnose, which sprinklers on the foliage make worse
  • Decline over soil that stays wet warrants a check for root rot or crown canker, both known problems of this tree
  • Leaves turning yellow, orange and red before they drop in fall is normal for this deciduous tree and is not a sign of thirst

How to water it

  • Water with drip or a soaker under the canopy, keeping sprinkler spray off the leaves
  • Soak slowly until the root zone is moist well down, then let the top few inches dry before the next soak
  • Keep 2 to 4 inches of mulch over the roots to hold them cool and moist in summer, pulled back from the trunk
  • Plant in rich, acidic soil that drains well, in part shade
  • Widen the watered area toward the canopy edge as the tree grows

Through the seasons

Give a young mountain dogwood steady soakings through its first summers, and do not let its root zone dry hard. Established trees have some drought tolerance, but a stressed tree invites disease. White bracts open in mid to late spring, red or orange fruit follows, the leaves color in fall, and the bare tree rests through winter. Summer is the season to watch soil moisture under the mulch. Winter rain covers the cool months on the north-central coast and in the Central Valley, where WUCOLS rates it moderate water. WUCOLS marks it as not suited to the south coast, South Inland, the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Mountain dogwood grows into a tree 15 to 40 feet tall, so a container only holds a young plant before it goes in the ground. Use a deep pot with drainage holes and a rich, acidic mix. Shade the pot itself, since a dark nursery can on hot paving heats the roots quickly. Check the mix 2 inches down every few days in summer, and daily during Central Valley heat. Water until it drains from the holes, then empty the saucer. After leaf drop, let the mix dry a little more between soakings.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
2.67gal per sq ft in JulyModerate water use in the Central Valley zone
A year
17.11 gal per sq ft
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses
0.671.32.02.70.4JAN0.65FEB1.09MAR1.52APR2.08MAY2.48JUN2.67JUL2.39AUG1.8SEP1.18OCT0.56NOV0.34DEC0.671.32.02.70.4JFM1.52AMJ2.67JAS1.18OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 2.67 in Jul, 17.11 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Mountain Dogwood: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.370.4––––
Feb0.530.65––––
Mar0.871.09––––
Apr1.181.52––––
May1.462.08––––
Jun1.612.48––––
Jul1.612.67––––
Aug1.492.39––––
Sep1.241.8––––
Oct0.871.18––––
Nov0.470.56––––
Dec0.310.34––––
Year1217.11––––

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 16

Rated moderate water in the Central Valley, like mountain dogwood. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Citrus TreesCitrus spp.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyJapanese MapleAcer palmatummoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyAvocado TreesPersea americanamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyMagnolia TreesMagnolia grandiflora ssp. & cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyPalm TreesSyagrus romanzoffiana (Arecastrum romanzoffianum)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyApple TreesMalus spp. (edible) e.g, 'Anna' (low chill variety for low desert)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyPeach TreesPrunus spp. ediblemoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyPersimmon TreesDiospyros kakimoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyAmur MapleAcer ginnalamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyFernleaf MapleAcer japonicummoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBox ElderAcer negundomoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyNorway MapleAcer platanoidesmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyRed MapleAcer rubrummoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyChinese MapleAcer truncatummoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyRed BuckeyeAesculus paviamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyRed HorsechestnutAesculus x carneamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in July

Similar plants that need less water 16

Rated lower than mountain dogwood in the Central Valley. Worth a look for a new bed or a lawn replacement.

Olive TreesOlea europaea ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyFig TreesFicus carica ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyCrape MyrtleLagerstroemia spp., hybrids & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyAloeAloe spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyPomegranate TreesPunica granatumlow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyEucalyptusEucalyptus polyanthemoslow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyPine TreesPinus canariensislow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyJunipersJuniperus spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyTexas Red OakQuercus buckleyilow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyPortuguese OakQuercus faginealow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySoapbark TreeQuillaja saponarialow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyNecklace TreeSophora affinislow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyBailey AcaciaAcacia baileyanalow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySilver WattleAcacia dealbatalow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyGreen WattleAcacia decurrenslow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySydney Golden WattleAcacia longifolialow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in July
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes mountain dogwood, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How much water does mountain dogwood need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established mountain dogwood needs about 6.8 gallons a day under a 10 foot canopy and about 27 gallons a day under a 20 foot canopy. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for mountain dogwood change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates mountain dogwood separately for each of the six California climate zones: moderate water in the North-Central Coastal zone, moderate water in the Central Valley zone, not suited to this region in the South Coastal zone, not suited to this region in the South Inland zone, not suited to this region in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, not suited to this region in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Why does my dogwood have brown spots on its leaves?

Anthracnose is the most serious disease of this dogwood, and it is worse in cool, wet springs. Sprinklers that wet the leaves help spread it, so switch to drip under the canopy. Rake up fallen leaves and twigs, and prune out dead twigs in winter.

Can mountain dogwood grow in Southern California gardens?

WUCOLS marks it as not suited to South Inland or the south coast. In the wild it grows mainly in forests between about 3,000 and 5,000 feet. Planted outside its native range, it often struggles.

How is mountain dogwood different from eastern dogwood?

It is the western counterpart of the eastern flowering dogwood. Each flower cluster typically carries six white bracts rather than four. It does well in the West but does not prosper in the eastern states.

Does mountain dogwood need shade?

It prefers part shade with moist, rich, acidic soil, much like the forest settings where it grows wild. It can take more sun, but the soil dries faster there and mulch matters more.

Can I plant mountain dogwood in a lawn?

It is often planted near patios and in lawns. Lawn sprinklers that hit the leaves can favor anthracnose, so keep spray below the canopy. Keep turf a few feet back from the trunk and mulch that ring instead.

Why is my young mountain dogwood struggling?

Young trees are temperamental, especially outside the native range. Check that the soil drains well and stays evenly moist under mulch. One California native plant nursery reports that trees past about ten years settle down and need little care.

More plant watering guides

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Sources