WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Corynephorus canescens, WUCOLS IV

How often to water clublawn grass in California

In July on the south coast, established clublawn grass needs about 1.4 gallons a week for a plant 2 feet across. Clublawn grass, also sold as gray hair grass, forms small tufts of stiff, bristle-like, silvery blue-green leaves. In summer, very fine stems carry sprays of silvery spikelets tinged purple. It comes from coastal sand dunes, so fast drainage matters more to it than rich soil.

Ornamental grassRated for 1 of 6 zones

How often to water clublawn grass, 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 clublawn grass and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: the plant’s WUCOLS rating times your city’s climate for the month, over the area the plant covers. 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

  • Sandy soil dry 2 inches down beside the tuft during summer signals that clublawn grass needs a soak
  • Bristle-like blades turning straw colored from the tips in warm weather can indicate thirst
  • Tufts browning from the center while the soil stays wet suggest poor drainage or overwatering
  • Clumps flattening and rotting at the base after heavy irrigation point to too much water

How to water it

  • Water around each tuft with drip or a gentle hose rather than across the crown
  • Soak the sandy root zone several inches deep, then let the top inch or two dry
  • Plant in sand or a gritty, fast-draining mix, never in heavy clay that holds water
  • Use a gravel mulch rather than bark so the base of each tuft dries quickly
  • Add emitters as you divide clumps or set out more tufts to fill a bed

Through the seasons

Keep new tufts lightly moist until roots grow into the surrounding sand, then let the soil dry more between soaks. Water matters most from late spring through summer, when the plant flowers. Trim old growth in early spring to tidy the clumps. On the coast, winter rain usually keeps the root zone moist through the cool months. WUCOLS rates clublawn grass moderate water on the south coast. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for the north-central coast, the Central Valley, South Inland, the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Clublawn grass makes a neat accent in a shallow pot of sandy, gritty mix with open drainage holes. Small pots dry fast in warm, sunny spots, so check the mix every few days in summer and water when the top inch is dry. Let excess run out of the holes and do not leave the pot in a full saucer. Cut back old growth in early spring. In winter, let rain do most of the work and keep the pot where water cannot collect.

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

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

Monthly water need by climate zone

Clublawn Grass: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan––0.78–––
Feb––0.81–––
Mar––1.15–––
Apr––1.4–––
May––1.61–––
Jun––1.74–––
Jul––1.98–––
Aug––1.86–––
Sep––1.49–––
Oct––1.15–––
Nov––0.84–––
Dec––0.65–––
Year––15.5–––

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 8

Rated not evaluated in the Central Valley, like clublawn grass. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Blue Hair GrassKoeleria glaucanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingGolden Wood MilletMilium effusumnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingCommon ReedPhragmites australisnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingPlume GrassSaccharum ravennae (Erianthus ravennae)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingSand RyegrassLeymus arenariusnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingGolden Meadow FoxtailAlopecurus pratensis 'Aureus'not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingTufted FescueFestuca amethystinanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingVariegated Water GrassGlyceria maxima 'Variegata'not 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 clublawn grass, 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 clublawn grass need per day?

In July on the south coast, established clublawn grass needs about 0.2 gallons a day for a plant 2 feet across and about 0.8 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 clublawn grass change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates clublawn grass separately for each of the six California climate zones: not evaluated in the North-Central Coastal zone, not evaluated in the Central Valley zone, moderate water in the South Coastal zone, not evaluated 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 clublawn grass grow near the beach?

Yes, it grows wild on coastal sand dunes and tolerates salt-laden wind. Sandy, fast-draining soil suits it. Check young plants more often until their roots settle.

Does clublawn grass need acid soil?

It does best in well-drained, acid soil. Many California garden soils are alkaline, so a pot or a raised sandy bed gives you more control. Use a gritty mix that drains freely.

Should I cut back clublawn grass?

It needs no regular pruning. Cut back old growth in early spring if the tufts look shabby. Fresh blades then fill in through the season.

How tall does clublawn grass get?

It usually stays between a few inches and about 20 inches tall and wide. That small size suits edges, rock gardens and gravel beds. Space tufts so air moves between them.

Why is my clublawn grass turning brown?

Check first whether the soil is soggy, since wet clay or a full saucer rots the base. If the sand is dry several inches down, it needs a soak. Pests rarely trouble it, so look at water and drainage first.

More plant watering guides

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Sources