WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Cornus canadensis, WUCOLS IV

How often to water bunchberry in California

In July in the Central Valley, established bunchberry in loam needs a deep watering about every 8 days: about 2.2 gallons each time for a plant 2 feet across, about 1.9 gallons a week. Bunchberry is a low, creeping dogwood that spreads by underground rhizomes into a carpet 6 inches to a foot tall. From spring into summer, four white bracts frame each tiny flower cluster, followed by bright red berries. It wants cool shade and moist, acidic, humus-rich soil, and it does not tolerate drought.

Ground coverCalifornia nativeRated for 2 of 6 zones

How often to water bunchberry, month by month

Your city
Plant width
2 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 bunchberry 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 an inch or two down beneath the leaf carpet signals that bunchberry needs water
  • Leaves that wilt or brown at the edges in a warm spell point to dry soil or too much sun
  • Patches thinning out in summer heat show the spot is too hot or too dry for this cool-climate plant
  • Yellowing leaves and soft stems in soggy ground can indicate root rot from poor drainage
  • A white powdery coating on the leaves suggests powdery mildew, which stressed plants are prone to

How to water it

  • Water bunchberry gently at soil level with a soaker or drip line woven through the planting
  • Moisten the top 6 to 8 inches of soil, then water again before the surface inch dries out
  • Plant it in humus-rich, acidic soil that drains well, working in leaf mold or compost first
  • Cover the soil with a thin layer of pine needles or shredded leaves to keep the rhizomes cool
  • Extend the watered area as the rhizomes creep into new ground

Through the seasons

Keep new bunchberry plantings evenly moist through the first summer while rhizomes knit into the soil. Established patches still need moist soil all season, since the plant does not tolerate drought. Leaves emerge in spring, flowers follow into summer, and red berries ripen in late summer. Leaves turn reddish purple in fall before the plant goes dormant. Winter rain covers the dormant months on the north-central coast and in the Central Valley in most years. WUCOLS rates bunchberry moderate water on the north-central coast and in the Central Valley. WUCOLS marks it as not suited to the south coast, South Inland, the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Bunchberry can grow in a wide, shallow pot of acidic, humus-rich mix in a shaded spot. Check the top inch of mix every few days in warm weather, and daily in a heat wave. A pot dries much faster than a woodland floor. Water until it drains through, then empty the saucer so roots never sit in water. Keep the pot out of afternoon sun and reflected heat from walls. In winter the plant is dormant, so water only enough to keep the mix from drying out completely.

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

Bunchberry: 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 bunchberry. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Star JasmineTrachelospermum jasminoides and cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyHoneysuckleLonicera japonicamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyIvyHedera helixmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyStrawberriesFragaria spp. & cvs. (CA native and non-natives species)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCarpet BugleAjuga reptans (shade)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyGreen Supreme ManzanitaArctostaphylos uva-ursi 'Green Supreme'moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyMassachusetts ManzanitaArctostaphylos uva-ursi 'Massachusetts'moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySerbian BellflowerCampanula poscharskyanamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyKenilworth IvyCymbalaria muralismoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCranesbillGeranium spp.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyGreen CarpetHerniaria glabramoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySpotted DeadnettleLamium maculatummoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyLemon BalmMelissa officinalismoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyJapanese SpurgePachysandra terminalismoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyMoss PinkPhlox subulatamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySpring CinquefoilPotentilla neumannianamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in July

Similar plants that need less water 16

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

BougainvilleaBougainvillea & spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyLantanaLantana camara ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyJunipersJuniperus spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyYarrowAchillea millefolium (non-native hybrids)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySagebrushArtemisia spp. (shrubby)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyCalifornia Native YarrowAchillea millefolium (CA native cultivars)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyWoolly YarrowAchillea tomentosalow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyGround Morning GloryConvolvulus mauritanicuslow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyRock CotoneasterCotoneaster horizontalislow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySouth African GeraniumPelargonium sidoideslow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyLippia GroundcoverPhyla nodiflora (Lippia nodiflora) cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyRock SoapwortSaponaria ocymoideslow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyMother of ThymeThymus praecoxlow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyVancouver Jade BearberryArctostaphylos uva-ursi 'Vancouver Jade'low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyTrailing LantanaLantana montevidensis (sellowiana) ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyGermanderTeucrium chamaedrys ssp. & cvs.low 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 bunchberry, 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 bunchberry need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established bunchberry needs about 0.3 gallons a day for a plant 2 feet across and about 1.1 gallons a day for a plant 4 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 bunchberry change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates bunchberry 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.

Can bunchberry grow in sun?

It does best in dappled light or partial shade. Full sun dries the soil quickly and can scorch the leaves. At the least, shade it from afternoon sun.

Why is my bunchberry not spreading?

It grows slowly even in good conditions. Dry soil, alkaline soil or summer heat slow it further. Keep the soil evenly moist and acidic, and give it a few seasons to fill in.

Can you overwater bunchberry?

Yes. It needs moisture but also good drainage, and stressed plants are prone to root rot. Water when the surface inch starts to dry, not on top of soil that is still wet.

Can I walk on bunchberry?

No. It does not tolerate foot traffic, so set stepping stones where you need access. Compacted soil also sheds water instead of soaking it in.

Can bunchberry grow in a hot inland garden?

It struggles in hot summers, which is why it belongs in cool, shaded spots. In the Central Valley, give it deep afternoon shade and steady moisture. Mulch helps keep its rhizomes cool.

More plant watering guides

Empress TreeMartha Washington PelargoniumMoss PinkChinese PhotiniaNorway SpruceAlberta SpruceColorado SpruceLily-of-the-Valley Shrub

Sources