WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Rubus lineatus, WUCOLS IV

How often to water silky-leaved bramble in California

In July on the north-central coast, established silky-leaved bramble in loam needs a deep watering about every 13 days: about 8.8 gallons each time for a plant 4 feet across, about 4.6 gallons a week. Silky-leaved bramble is a suckering, semi-evergreen shrub from Southeast Asia, up to about 10 feet tall. Its striking leaves are made of five deeply veined green leaflets, silver beneath. Small white flowers lead to little yellow or red fruits in autumn. It grows in any well-drained, moderately fertile soil, in sun or part shade.

ShrubRated for 2 of 6 zones

How often to water silky-leaved bramble, 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 silky-leaved bramble 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

  • Ground dry 3 to 4 inches down under the canes in summer signals silky-leaved bramble needs water
  • Leaflets folding to show their silver undersides in afternoon heat can indicate thirst
  • Leaves browning and dropping early in late summer can follow a long dry spell
  • Gray, fuzzy mold on leaves and stems in damp, crowded growth points to gray mold

How to water it

  • Water the base of the clump with drip or a soaker under the canes
  • Soak about 8 inches down, then let the top couple of inches dry
  • Plant in sun or part shade in any well-drained, moderately fertile soil
  • Thin crowded canes so air moves through the clump
  • Remove suckers that wander beyond where you want it

Through the seasons

Water a new plant regularly through its first summer while it settles. Established clumps want moderate, even moisture through the warm months. It is semi-evergreen, so it may lose some leaves in a cold winter. Fruits ripen in autumn, after small white flowers. Mulch helps hold moisture around the shallow roots in summer. On the north-central coast and in South Inland, WUCOLS rates silky-leaved bramble moderate water. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for the Central Valley, the south coast, the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Silky-leaved bramble can grow in a large container, which also keeps its suckers in check. Use a moderately fertile, well-drained mix. Feel the top two inches, and water once they are dry until the extra drains away. In summer, check every few days. Keep the saucer empty. Remove dead or crowded canes. In winter, water only when the mix dries between rains.

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

WUCOLS lists Silky-Leaved Bramble as not evaluated for the Central Valley zone, so no monthly figure is computed here.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Silky-Leaved Bramble: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.37––0.78––
Feb0.53––0.87––
Mar0.87––1.3––
Apr1.18––1.61––
May1.46––1.95––
Jun1.61––2.29––
Jul1.61––2.51––
Aug1.49––2.33––
Sep1.24––1.86––
Oct0.87––1.33––
Nov0.47––0.9––
Dec0.31––0.68––
Year12––18.41––

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 silky-leaved bramble. 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 ratingBarbados CherryMalpighia glabranot 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 silky-leaved bramble, 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 silky-leaved bramble need per day?

In July on the north-central coast, established silky-leaved bramble needs about 0.7 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across and about 2.6 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 silky-leaved bramble change across California?

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

Why are the leaves silver underneath?

The leaf undersides are silver, so the shrub shimmers when wind turns the leaves. It is normal, not a stress sign.

Does silky-leaved bramble spread?

Yes, it suckers and can widen into a thicket. Dig out suckers you do not want. A container or barrier keeps it in place.

Does silky-leaved bramble have fruit?

Yes, small yellow or red fruits follow the white flowers in autumn. They are ornamental. Pick them before they drop if you want a tidy bed.

How do I propagate silky-leaved bramble?

Divide it from autumn to early spring, or take softwood cuttings in summer. Hardwood and root cuttings work in winter. Keep new plants moist.

Does it lose its leaves in winter?

It is semi-evergreen and can drop some leaves in cold weather. New growth returns in spring. Water lightly while it rests.

More plant watering guides

Sweet Bay MagnoliaBarbados CherrySiberian CypressGolden Wood MilletCreeping Forget-Me-NotBolivian Mountain CoconutJapanese PhotiniaCommon Reed

Sources