WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Simmondsia chinensis ssp. & cvs., WUCOLS IV

How often to water jojoba in California

In July in the Central Valley, established jojoba in loam needs a deep watering about every 20 days: about 8.8 gallons each time for a plant 4 feet across, about 3.0 gallons a week. Jojoba is a dense, rounded evergreen shrub, usually 3 to 8 feet tall, with stiff branches and leathery, gray-green oval leaves. Male and female flowers grow on separate plants, and only females bear the acorn-shaped seed capsules prized for their waxy oil. Native to dry slopes and deserts of Southern California and the Southwest, it needs sharp drainage and very little water once established.

ShrubCalifornia nativeRated for 6 of 6 zones

How often to water jojoba, 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 jojoba 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

  • Leaves dropping in a long, hot summer can mean jojoba is shedding to cope with dry soil, and a deep soak may help
  • Soil dry several inches down is normal for an established plant and not, alone, a reason to water
  • Yellowing leaves and soft, dark stems at the base in wet soil can indicate overwatering or poor drainage
  • Browned tips after a hard freeze reflect cold damage, since it is hardy only to the mid teens F
  • A female plant that sets no seed usually lacks a male pollinator nearby, not water

How to water it

  • Give a new plant a deep soak at planting and occasional deep water through its first summer
  • Once established, water only rarely, with a slow, deep soak during long, hot dry spells
  • Plant in full sun in sandy or gravelly soil with excellent drainage, where salty or poor ground is no problem
  • Use rock or gravel mulch in very hot inland spots without summer rain
  • Keep it out of irrigated beds and lawns where the soil stays moist

Through the seasons

A new jojoba needs occasional deep watering through its first summer while roots reach down. After that it lives largely on rainfall, with a deep soak in long, hot dry spells, especially inland and in the deserts. It may drop some leaves in summer if kept very dry. WUCOLS rates jojoba very low water on the north-central coast and the south coast. It rates low water in the Central Valley, South Inland, the high desert and the low desert. Winter rain usually covers it on the coast and in the Central Valley, but where the ground freezes regularly it will not thrive.

In pots

Jojoba can grow in a large container for a few years, though a female needs a male nearby to set seed. Use a pot with big drainage holes and a sandy, fast draining mix. In summer heat, check the mix regularly and water only when it is dry several inches down. Let water drain completely, and never leave the pot in a saucer of water. Give it full sun. In winter, water rarely and protect the pot in hard freezes.

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

Jojoba: 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 jojoba. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

LavenderLavandula spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyRosemaryRosmarinus officinalislow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyBougainvilleaBougainvillea & spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyOlive TreesOlea europaea 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 JulyLantanaLantana camara ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySalviaSalvia greggii ssp., cvs. & hybridslow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyAloeAloe spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySucculentsEcheveria spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyJunipersJuniperus spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyRussian SagePerovskia spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySagebrushArtemisia spp. (shrubby)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyWild PrivetLigustrum vulgarelow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyCoralberrySymphoricarpos orbiculatus (SHADE)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySydney Golden WattleAcacia longifolialow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyBlue Leaf WattleAcacia salignalow 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 jojoba, 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 jojoba in summer?

In July, established jojoba 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 jojoba need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established jojoba needs about 0.4 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across and about 1.7 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 jojoba change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates jojoba 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.

Why is my jojoba not producing seeds?

Jojoba plants are either male or female, and a female sets seed only when a male grows close enough to pollinate it. Males are far more common in cultivation, so a lone shrub is often male.

How cold hardy is jojoba?

It handles brief cold to about the mid teens F. Plants on frequently frozen ground do poorly. In colder inland areas, choose a warm, sunny, well-drained spot.

Does jojoba need rich soil?

No. It tolerates poor, salty soils and prefers sandy, well-drained ground. Skip fertilizer and soil amendments.

Can you overwater jojoba?

Yes. It needs excellent drainage, and soil that stays moist can rot its roots. Water deeply but rarely once it is established.

Is jojoba a California native?

Yes. It grows wild on dry slopes and in desert scrub of Southern California, Baja California and the Sonoran Desert. It fits well beside other drought adapted natives.

More plant watering guides

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Sources