WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Ixora coccinea, WUCOLS IV

How often to water jungle geranium in California

In July on the south coast, established jungle geranium in loam needs a deep watering about every 7 days: about 8.8 gallons each time for a plant 4 feet across, about 9.0 gallons a week. Jungle geranium, better known as ixora, is a tropical evergreen shrub. Its round, 4 to 6 inch clusters of tubular flowers come in red, orange, yellow, pink or white. Each cluster can last six to eight weeks. It needs moist but well-drained, acidic soil, full sun for the most flowers, and protection from frost.

ShrubRated for 2 of 6 zones

How often to water jungle geranium, 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 jungle geranium 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 inches down under the mulch means jungle geranium is ready for water
  • Leaves drooping by afternoon over dry soil, and slow to recover, point to a dry root zone
  • Yellow new leaves with green veins point to alkaline soil and iron or manganese deficiency, not thirst
  • Sticky leaves or crusty bumps point to aphids or scale, a pest issue rather than water
  • Wilting with mushrooms at the base in wet soil can signal mushroom root rot

How to water it

  • Water jungle geranium at the base with drip or a soaker, keeping flower clusters dry
  • Moisten the soil about a foot deep, then water again when the top inch or two dries
  • Plant in acidic, well-drained soil away from concrete foundations and sidewalks
  • Mulch with pine needles or bark to keep roots cool and hold moisture
  • Widen the watered band as a hedge or specimen fills out

Through the seasons

Keep a new jungle geranium evenly moist through its first summer while roots spread. Established shrubs flower through the warm months and need regular soakings then. They have moderate drought tolerance but grow best in moist, well-drained soil. Frost or freezing weather injures the plant, so cool winters call for less water and some shelter. WUCOLS rates jungle geranium high water on the south coast and moderate water in the low desert. It is marked not suited to the Central Valley and the high desert. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for the north-central coast or South Inland.

In pots

A container lets you move jungle geranium under cover when frost threatens, a useful option outside frost-free areas. Smaller forms that stay 4 to 6 feet suit pots best. Use a pot with drainage holes and an acidic, well-drained mix. Check 2 inches down every few days in summer heat and water when dry. Empty the saucer each time, and water less in winter while growth slows.

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

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

Monthly water need by climate zone

Jungle Geranium: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan––1.24––0.78
Feb––1.29––0.93
Mar––1.84––1.52
Apr––2.23––1.95
May––2.58––2.45
Jun––2.78––2.79
Jul––3.17––2.85
Aug––2.98––2.6
Sep––2.38––2.08
Oct––1.84––1.49
Nov––1.34––0.96
Dec––1.04––0.68
Year––24.8––21.08

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 jungle geranium. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Chenille PlantAcalypha hispidanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingCopperleafAcalypha 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 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 jungle geranium, 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 jungle geranium need per day?

In July on the south coast, established jungle geranium needs about 1.3 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across and about 5.1 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 jungle geranium change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates jungle geranium separately for each of the six California climate zones: not evaluated in the North-Central Coastal zone, not suited to this region in the Central Valley zone, high water in the South Coastal zone, not evaluated in the South Inland zone, not suited to this region in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, moderate 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 are my ixora leaves turning yellow?

Yellow new growth with green veins usually means the soil is too alkaline, often near sidewalks or foundations. Iron and manganese become hard for the plant to take up. A micronutrient fertilizer helps for a while, but acidic soil is the lasting fix.

How cold can jungle geranium take?

Frost and freezes injure it. Grow it in a pot you can move indoors, or plant it only in frost-free spots.

Does jungle geranium need full sun?

Full sun gives the most flowers, though it grows in partial shade, especially large-leaved types. Sun dries the soil faster, so check it more often.

How long do jungle geranium flower clusters last?

Each round cluster can last six to eight weeks, and under ideal conditions the plant flowers almost continuously. Steady warmth and moisture keep new clusters coming.

Can you overwater jungle geranium?

Yes. It needs well-drained soil, and mushroom root rot can strike in soggy ground. Keep the soil moist, not wet.

More plant watering guides

Queensland Bottle TreeSaguaroMoreton Bay ChestnutRed Flowering GumDragon TreeCandelabra TreeMilk BushBoojum

Sources