WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Malpighia glabra, WUCOLS IV

How often to water Barbados cherry in California

In July in the high desert, established Barbados cherry in loam needs a deep watering about every 7 days: about 8.8 gallons each time for a plant 4 feet across, about 8.6 gallons a week. Barbados cherry is a slow-growing tropical evergreen shrub with a dense, rounded canopy of fine leaves. Small pink flowers appear off and on from spring to fall, followed about a month later by bright red, tart fruits rich in vitamin C. It is frost tender and grows in sun or part shade.

ShrubRated for 2 of 6 zones

How often to water Barbados cherry, month by month

Your city
Plant width
4 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 Barbados cherry 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 the plant covers, 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 plant width

A shrub with its width marked from one side to the other and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the plant, from the tips of the leaves on one side to the tips on the other.

Water the whole area the plant covers, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that area.

A wider plant means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While it is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Soil dry 3 inches down under the canopy means Barbados cherry is ready for a deep soak
  • Leaves dropping or flowers fading early in desert heat can point to a dry root zone
  • Yellowing, stunted growth with knotted roots can point to nematodes rather than thirst
  • Sticky leaves and sooty mold point to whiteflies or scale, a pest issue rather than water
  • Leaves yellowing while the soil stays soggy suggest the roots are short of air

How to water it

  • Water Barbados cherry under its canopy with drip or a soaker, wetting the whole root zone
  • Soak about a foot deep, then let the top few inches dry before watering again
  • Plant in well-drained soil, slightly acidic if you can, in sun or part shade
  • Mulch the root area to keep the soil cooler in desert heat
  • Extend the watered area as the slow-growing canopy widens toward 10 to 15 feet

Through the seasons

Water a new Barbados cherry regularly through its first summer while roots spread. Established shrubs need deep soakings through the hot months, when they flower and fruit off and on. Flowering runs from spring into fall, with fruit following about a month after each flush. The plant is frost tender, so give it a warm spot and shelter on cold nights. WUCOLS rates Barbados cherry moderate water in the high desert and the low desert. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for the north-central coast, the Central Valley, the south coast or South Inland.

In pots

Barbados cherry suits a large container or planter, which also makes it easy to move under cover on frosty nights. Use a pot with drainage holes and a well-drained mix. In desert heat, check the mix 2 inches down every few days, and daily in a small pot. Water until it drains, then empty the saucer. A pot sitting in reflected heat from paving dries fastest, so give it some afternoon shade. Water less in winter, when growth slows.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
Not ratedWUCOLS does not rate Barbados Cherry for the Central Valley zone
A year
no figure
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses

WUCOLS lists Barbados Cherry as not evaluated for the Central Valley zone, so no monthly figure is computed here.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Barbados Cherry: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan––––0.740.78
Feb––––0.930.93
Mar––––1.461.52
Apr––––1.891.95
May––––2.392.45
Jun––––2.852.79
Jul––––3.042.85
Aug––––2.792.6
Sep––––2.142.08
Oct––––1.461.49
Nov––––0.930.96
Dec––––0.650.68
Year––––21.2721.08

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 not evaluated in the Central Valley, like Barbados cherry. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Formosa Sugar PalmArenga englerinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingChilean Feather BambooChusquea culeou (C. breviglumis)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBlackbrushColeogyne ramosissimanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingGlaucous Scorpion VetchCoronilla valentina glaucanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingWillowleaf CotoneasterCotoneaster salicifoliusnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMadagascar SagoCycas thouarsii (SHADE)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingIrish HeathDaboecia cantabricanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingButterfly PalmDypsis lutescens (Areca)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingUmbrella BambooFargesia murielaenot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBlue Fountain BambooFargesia nitida (Sinarundinaria nitida) (BAMBOO)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingPrickly HeathGaultheria mucronata (Pernettya mucronata)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingOtterbossieGossypium harknessiinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBox-leaved HollyIlex crenatanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBellyache BushJatropha gossypiifolianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMountain LaurelKalmia latifolianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingSiberian CypressMicrobiota decussatanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes Barbados cherry, 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 Barbados cherry need per day?

In July in the high desert, established Barbados cherry needs about 1.2 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across and about 4.9 gallons a day for a plant 8 feet across. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for Barbados cherry change across California?

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

Is Barbados cherry fruit edible?

Yes. The bright red fruits are tart and extremely high in vitamin C. They ripen about a month after the pink flowers.

How cold can Barbados cherry take?

It is frost tender and suited to the mildest winter areas. Plant it against a warm wall or grow it in a pot you can shelter on cold nights.

Can Barbados cherry be a hedge?

Yes. Its dense, rounded canopy works as a hedge or screen. Run drip along both sides of a hedge row.

What pests bother Barbados cherry?

Nematodes, whiteflies, scale and plant bugs are its main pests. Treat them directly, since extra water will not help.

Can you overwater Barbados cherry?

Yes. Soggy soil starves its roots of air. Water deeply, then give the upper soil time to dry.

More plant watering guides

Euphorbia candelabrumAfrican Milk TreeSerpentine SunflowerSpicy JatrophaPachypodiumShore PineBlue Dwarf Japanese Stone PineHuckleberry Oak

Sources