WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Melia azedarach, WUCOLS IV

How often to water chinaberry in California

In July in the Central Valley, established chinaberry in loam needs a deep watering about every 20 days: about 55 gallons each time under a 10 foot canopy, about 19 gallons a week. Chinaberry is a fast growing deciduous tree with loose spikes of fragrant lilac flowers in spring, followed by yellow berries that persist into winter. It tolerates wet or dry soil and poor ground once established, but its fruit litter and unwanted spread require attention. Its berries are poisonous in quantity to pets and livestock, and it can turn weedy in warm, wet locations.

TreeRated for 6 of 6 zones

How often to water chinaberry, 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 chinaberry 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

  • A young chinaberry with leaves wilting by afternoon over dry soil needs a deep soak while establishing
  • Check soil around an established chinaberry before adding water, since the tree tolerates drought
  • Yellow berries dropping heavily beneath the canopy are a normal seasonal event, not a sign of thirst
  • Root sprouts rising well beyond the trunk reflect this tree's tendency to spread rather than a watering issue
  • Persistent puddles beneath chinaberry call for checking drainage, even though the tree tolerates periodic flooding

How to water it

  • Water a young chinaberry deeply at planting, then taper off as its wide-ranging roots take hold
  • Let the soil dry between waterings on an established tree, since it manages both dry and damp ground well
  • Keep irrigation away from the base in low spots where water already collects after rain
  • Rake up and dispose of fallen berries where pets or livestock have access to the yard
  • Remove small chinaberry seedlings and monitor root sprouts instead of expecting watering changes to contain spread

Through the seasons

A newly planted chinaberry needs steady moisture through its first season while its wide-spreading roots establish in open ground. Established trees are deciduous, flowering in spring and holding berries into winter after their leaves drop. This species tolerates both dry and periodically wet soil, but fruit litter and new seedlings can still require attention. Coastal and valley winter rain can reduce irrigation; elsewhere, check the soil rather than assuming the root area stays dry. WUCOLS rates chinaberry very low water on the north-central coast and on the south coast, and low water in the Central Valley, South Inland, the high desert and the low desert. In warm, wet locations it can self-sow and turn weedy.

In pots

Chinaberry grows rapidly into a sizeable tree, so assess its eventual space and tendency to spread before keeping a potted seedling. Check the mix several inches down during California summer heat, since potting soil dries faster than garden beds. Water until it drains fully through the holes, then pour off anything left in the saucer. In winter, inspect the mix after rain before adding water to a leafless sapling. Remove unwanted seedlings from other pots rather than allowing them to grow with the intended plants.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
1.07gal per sq ft in JulyLow water use in the Central Valley zone
A year
6.84 gal per sq ft
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses
0.300.610.921.20.16JAN0.26FEB0.43MAR0.61APR0.83MAY0.99JUN1.07JUL0.95AUG0.72SEP0.47OCT0.22NOV0.14DEC0.300.610.921.20.16JFM0.61AMJ1.07JAS0.47OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 1.07 in Jul, 6.84 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Chinaberry: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.040.160.080.310.30.31
Feb0.050.260.080.350.370.37
Mar0.090.430.110.520.580.61
Apr0.120.610.140.640.760.78
May0.150.830.160.780.950.98
Jun0.160.990.170.921.141.12
Jul0.161.070.211.221.14
Aug0.150.950.190.931.121.04
Sep0.120.720.150.740.860.83
Oct0.090.470.110.530.580.6
Nov0.050.220.080.360.370.38
Dec0.030.140.070.270.260.27
Year1.26.841.557.378.518.43

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 low water in the Central Valley, like chinaberry. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

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 chinaberry, 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 chinaberry in summer?

In July, established chinaberry in loam needs a deep watering about every 20 days in the Central Valley, about once a month or less on the south coast and about every 22 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 chinaberry need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established chinaberry needs about 2.7 gallons a day under a 10 foot canopy and about 11 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 chinaberry change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates chinaberry separately for each of the six California climate zones: very low water in the North-Central Coastal zone, low water in the Central Valley zone, very low water in the South Coastal zone, low water in the South Inland zone, low water in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, low water in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Are chinaberry's berries dangerous to pets?

Yes, the yellow berries contain compounds that can cause serious illness in dogs and livestock if eaten in quantity. Raking up fallen fruit in areas pets access reduces that risk. This has no bearing on how the tree itself should be watered.

Does chinaberry need regular water once established?

Established chinaberry has low or very low water ratings across California. Let soil moisture guide supplemental watering rather than assuming it never needs irrigation. Tolerance of periodically flooded ground does not establish that persistent standing water is harmless.

Why do I keep finding chinaberry seedlings around my yard?

It self-sows readily from fallen berries and can also send up root sprouts some distance from the trunk. Pull unwanted seedlings while they are small, since their roots spread quickly. This tendency is more pronounced in warm, humid locations.

Is chinaberry considered invasive in California?

Sources describe it as capable of becoming weedy or invasive in warm climates, especially wet locations, through self-sowing and root sprouts. It is not as aggressively invasive everywhere it grows. Removing seedlings promptly limits how far an existing tree spreads.

Can chinaberry handle poor soil?

Chinaberry tolerates poor soil and a range of soil textures. It can also grow in periodically flooded sites, but those tolerances do not explain or replace its regional water ratings. Check persistent drainage problems instead of assuming this tree cannot be overwatered.

More plant watering guides

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Sources