WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Acalypha hispida, WUCOLS IV

How often to water chenille plant in California

In July on the south coast, established chenille plant in loam needs a deep watering about every 11 days: about 8.8 gallons each time for a plant 4 feet across, about 5.6 gallons a week. Chenille plant is a vigorous tropical evergreen shrub with large, glossy, heart-shaped leaves. Its fuzzy red to pink flower tassels hang up to 18 inches long. It blooms from spring into fall in warm, frost-free gardens. It wants steady moisture in well-drained soil, and it is sensitive to both salt and cold.

ShrubRated for 2 of 6 zones

How often to water chenille plant, 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 chenille plant 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 2 to 3 inches down under the shrub in summer signals that chenille plant needs a deep soak
  • Large leaves drooping in afternoon heat and still limp by evening point to a dry root zone
  • Leaf edges browning near the coast or after salty water can reflect its poor salt tolerance
  • Yellowing lower leaves and dropping tassels in soil that stays soggy point to poor drainage
  • Fine stippling and webbing under the leaves point to spider mites, which often build up in hot, dry spells

How to water it

  • Water around the base and out to the edge of the branches with drip or a slow hose
  • Soak the soil about 18 inches deep, then let the top 2 inches dry before the next soak
  • Plant in full sun to part shade in well-drained soil, avoiding low spots where water stands
  • Spread a few inches of organic mulch over the root zone, keeping it a hand's width from the stems
  • Add emitters as the shrub fills out toward its 4 to 6 foot spread

Through the seasons

A new chenille plant needs steady moisture through its first summer while its roots spread. Established shrubs still need regular deep soakings in the warm months, when they grow fast and bloom. Growth slows in winter, so water less, and protect the plant from frost, which damages this tropical shrub. Rain usually covers the cool months on the south coast, while South Inland gardens need soil checks in dry spells. WUCOLS rates chenille plant moderate water on the south coast and in South Inland. WUCOLS marks it as not suited to the north-central coast or the Central Valley. It has not been evaluated for the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Chenille plant grows well in a large pot that can move under cover for winter. Check the mix an inch or two down every few days in summer, and water when it is dry, until water drains from the holes. Empty the saucer afterward. Now and then, run water through the pot for a long time to flush out salts, which it tolerates poorly. In winter, water less, and keep the plant above 60 degrees if you bring it indoors.

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

WUCOLS lists Chenille Plant as not suited to this region for the Central Valley zone, so no monthly figure is computed here.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Chenille Plant: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan––0.780.78––
Feb––0.810.87––
Mar––1.151.3––
Apr––1.41.61––
May––1.611.95––
Jun––1.742.29––
Jul––1.982.51––
Aug––1.862.33––
Sep––1.491.86––
Oct––1.151.33––
Nov––0.840.9––
Dec––0.650.68––
Year––15.518.41––

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 suited to this region in the Central Valley, like chenille plant. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

CopperleafAcalypha wilkesiananot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingYellow Bell BauhiniaBauhinia tomentosanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMagic FlowerCantua buxifolianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingClustered Fishtail PalmCaryota mitisnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingHawaiian TiCordyline fruticosa (Cordyline terminalis)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingFilbertCorylus maximanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingPoinsettiaEuphorbia pulcherrimanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingWeeping Chinese BanyanFicus benjaminanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingRubber PlantFicus elasticanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingFranklin TreeFranklinia alatamaha (Gordonia alatamaha)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingJungle GeraniumIxora coccineanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingOrange JessamineMurraya paniculatanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingCommon GuavaPsidium guajavanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingOrgan Pipe CactusStenocereus thurberi (Lemaireocereus thurberi)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingGiant Bird of ParadiseStrelitzia nicolai (shade in desert)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMarmalade BushStreptosolen jamesoniinot 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 chenille plant, 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 often should I water chenille plant in summer?

In July, established chenille plant in loam needs a deep watering about every 11 days on the south coast and about every 9 days in the South Inland zone. Sandy soil holds less water, so waterings come closer together. Clay stretches them. Check the soil before each watering and skip one after a soaking rain.

How much water does chenille plant need per day?

In July on the south coast, established chenille plant needs about 0.8 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across and about 3.2 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 chenille plant change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates chenille plant separately for each of the six California climate zones: not suited to this region in the North-Central Coastal zone, not suited to this region in the Central Valley zone, moderate water 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.

Can chenille plant survive frost?

It is a tropical shrub suited only to frost-free winters. Frost can damage or kill it, so cover it or move pots under shelter on cold nights. In colder areas, grow it as a summer annual or a houseplant.

How do I prune chenille plant?

Prune it after a flush of flowers to keep the size you want. It grows vigorously, so light, regular trimming keeps it dense. Water after a hard pruning only if the soil is dry.

Why are my chenille plant leaves browning at the edges?

Leaf burn can come from salt, since this shrub has poor salt tolerance, or from a dry root zone in heat. Check the soil first, then give a long, deep soak to push salts below the roots. Keep it out of coastal salt spray.

Can I grow chenille plant indoors?

Yes, in a bright spot that stays above 60 degrees with high humidity. Let the top of the mix dry slightly between waterings. Dry indoor air can invite spider mites, so grouping plants together helps.

Does chenille plant need full sun?

It grows in full sun to part shade. In hot inland gardens, part shade slows how fast the soil dries between soakings.

More plant watering guides

Giant Bird of ParadiseMarmalade BushPainted DaisyBlack-Eyed Susan VineSky Flower VineWandering JewMoses-in-the-CradleWhite Clover

Sources