WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Cymbalaria muralis, WUCOLS IV

How often to water Kenilworth ivy in California

In July in the Central Valley, established Kenilworth ivy in loam needs a deep watering about every 8 days: about 2.2 gallons each time for a plant 2 feet across, about 1.9 gallons a week. Kenilworth ivy is a tiny trailing perennial, only 2 to 3 inches tall, with rounded, kidney-shaped leaves and little blue-violet flowers like snapdragons. It creeps by rooting runners and seeds itself into wall cracks, paving gaps and rock crevices. It wants shade and lightly moist soil, and it does not handle heat well.

Ground coverPerennialRated for 4 of 6 zones

How often to water Kenilworth ivy, 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 Kenilworth ivy 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

  • Mat edges wilting or crisping while the soil an inch down is dry signal that Kenilworth ivy needs water
  • Leaves browning in afternoon sun or a heat wave point to a site that is too hot, more than to a missed watering
  • Ragged holes in the leaves after damp nights point to slugs and snails, which thrive where the mat stays wet
  • Rotting, slimy patches in a mat that never dries warrant less water and better drainage
  • Fine pale speckling on the leaves in dry heat warrants a close look for mites

How to water it

  • Water gently at the base of the mat with drip or a fine spray so you do not wash it out of crevices
  • Moisten the top 6 inches of soil, then let the surface dry before watering again
  • Grow it in part or full shade in soil that drains well, including gritty pockets in walls and rock gardens
  • Keep mulch thin around the edges so the runners can root into the soil
  • Extend watering to new patches as runners root and seedlings appear in nearby cracks

Through the seasons

A new planting of Kenilworth ivy needs lightly moist soil while its runners root in. Established mats grow and flower from spring into fall and need steady moisture through the dry months. It stays evergreen or semi-evergreen in mild winters, and growth slows in cool weather. Winter rain covers the cool months on the coast and in the Central Valley. It seeds itself into shaded cracks nearby, so expect new patches. In all four of its rated zones, the north-central coast, the Central Valley, the south coast and South Inland, WUCOLS rates it moderate water. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Kenilworth ivy spills over the rim of a pot or hanging basket and suits shady containers. A shallow pot dries quickly, so check the top inch of mix every day or two in summer and water when it dries. Water until it drains from the holes, then empty the saucer so the mix does not stay soggy. Keep the pot out of hot afternoon sun. In winter, water less as growth slows, and let rain do much of the work outdoors.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
2.67gal per sq ft in JulyModerate water use in the Central Valley zone
A year
17.11 gal per sq ft
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses
0.671.32.02.70.4JAN0.65FEB1.09MAR1.52APR2.08MAY2.48JUN2.67JUL2.39AUG1.8SEP1.18OCT0.56NOV0.34DEC0.671.32.02.70.4JFM1.52AMJ2.67JAS1.18OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 2.67 in Jul, 17.11 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Kenilworth Ivy: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.370.40.780.78––
Feb0.530.650.810.87––
Mar0.871.091.151.3––
Apr1.181.521.41.61––
May1.462.081.611.95––
Jun1.612.481.742.29––
Jul1.612.671.982.51––
Aug1.492.391.862.33––
Sep1.241.81.491.86––
Oct0.871.181.151.33––
Nov0.470.560.840.9––
Dec0.310.340.650.68––
Year1217.1115.518.41––

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 moderate water in the Central Valley, like Kenilworth ivy. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

DahliasDahlia spp.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyStar JasmineTrachelospermum jasminoides and cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyHoneysuckleLonicera japonicamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyFernsNephrolepis cordifolia (SHADE IN DESERT)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyDayliliesHemerocallis spp. & cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBegoniasBegonia & ssp. & cvs. (shade in the desert)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyIvyHedera helixmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCalla LiliesZantedeschia aethiopica SHADE IN DESERTmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyStrawberriesFragaria spp. & cvs. (CA native and non-natives species)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySageSalvia officinalis and cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBicolor MonkshoodAconitum cammarummoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyGarden MonkshoodAconitum napellusmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCarpet BugleAjuga reptans (shade)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySnowdrop WindflowerAnemone sylvestrismoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyGreen Supreme ManzanitaArctostaphylos uva-ursi 'Green Supreme'moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyMassachusetts ManzanitaArctostaphylos uva-ursi 'Massachusetts'moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in July

Similar plants that need less water 16

Rated lower than Kenilworth ivy in the Central Valley. Worth a look for a new bed or a lawn replacement.

BougainvilleaBougainvillea & spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyAgapanthusAgapanthus orientalislow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyGeraniumsPelargonium x hortorum and 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 JulyIrisesIris germanicalow 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 JulyYarrowAchillea millefolium (non-native hybrids)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyMountain AlyssumAlyssum montanumlow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySagebrushArtemisia spp. (shrubby)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySilver SageSalvia argentealow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyPurple MulleinVerbascum phoeniceumlow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySilvery YarrowAchillea clavennaelow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyFern Leaf YarrowAchillea filipendulinalow 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 Kenilworth ivy, 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 Kenilworth ivy in summer?

In July, established Kenilworth ivy in loam needs a deep watering about every 8 days in the Central Valley, 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 Kenilworth ivy need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established Kenilworth ivy needs about 0.3 gallons a day for a plant 2 feet across and about 1.1 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 Kenilworth ivy change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates Kenilworth ivy separately for each of the six California climate zones: moderate water in the North-Central Coastal zone, moderate water 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.

Is Kenilworth ivy invasive?

It spreads by rooting runners and scatters seed into cracks, so it often turns up in nearby paving and walls. Pull unwanted plants while they are small. Keep it away from beds where you do not want it.

Can Kenilworth ivy grow in sun?

It grows best in partial to deep shade and does not handle heat well. Sun on a hot wall dries the mat quickly. Move it, or shade it, before adding more water.

Is Kenilworth ivy safe for pets?

It is listed as nontoxic to cats, dogs and horses. That makes it a reasonable choice near shaded pet areas, though it does not tolerate foot traffic.

Can I grow Kenilworth ivy in a wall?

Yes. It naturally roots in wall crevices, rock cracks and pavement gaps, and its seed stalks bend to push seed into dark cracks. Water planted crevices gently so you do not wash out the soil.

Why are slugs eating my Kenilworth ivy?

Slugs and snails visit this plant, especially where the mat stays damp and shaded. Water near sunrise or switch to drip so the surface dries sooner. Hand-pick them at night when they feed.

More plant watering guides

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Sources