WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Murraya paniculata, WUCOLS IV

How often to water orange jessamine in California

In July on the south coast, established orange jessamine in loam needs a deep watering about every 11 days: about 8.8 gallons each time for a plant 4 feet across, about 5.6 gallons a week. Orange jessamine is a glossy evergreen shrub whose white flowers smell of orange blossom, most strongly at night, and are followed by small red fruits. It blooms several times a year and is often clipped into a hedge or screen. It wants rich, moist but well drained soil, and its roots rot if the ground stays damp.

ShrubRated for 3 of 6 zones

How often to water orange jessamine, 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 orange jessamine 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 to 3 inches down at the base of the shrub means orange jessamine needs water
  • Glossy leaves going dull and limp in afternoon heat, over dry soil, point to thirst
  • Yellowing leaves and dieback over soil that stays damp point to root rot
  • Twisted or notched new leaves with white waxy specks can mean Asian citrus psyllid, a pest of citrus relatives
  • Sticky leaves and black sooty mold point to scale, mealybugs or whiteflies rather than a watering problem

How to water it

  • Water along the base of the shrub or hedge with drip line or a soaker hose, keeping the foliage dry
  • Soak about 18 inches deep, then let the top few inches dry before the next watering
  • Plant in rich, well drained loam in sun or part shade, sheltered from strong wind
  • Raise the planting or improve drainage where heavy soil stays damp after watering
  • Mulch the root zone and move drip lines outward as a hedge thickens

Through the seasons

Water a new orange jessamine regularly through its first summer while the roots spread, letting the surface dry between soakings. Established shrubs bloom in several flushes a year, often carrying flowers and red fruit at once, and keep their leaves all year. Water much less in winter, when growth slows. On the south coast, winter rain usually covers the cool months, while low desert gardens need soil checks in dry spells. WUCOLS rates orange jessamine moderate water on the south coast, in South Inland and in the low desert. WUCOLS marks it as not suited to the Central Valley or the high desert, and has not evaluated it for the north-central coast.

In pots

Orange jessamine makes a handsome container shrub for a sheltered patio. Let the top inch or two of mix dry between waterings, checking every few days in summer heat. Water until it drains from the holes, then empty the saucer, since constantly damp mix leads to root rot. Shield the pot from strong wind. It tolerates only an occasional light frost, so move pots under cover on the coldest nights and water sparingly through winter.

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

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

Monthly water need by climate zone

Orange Jessamine: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan––0.780.78–0.78
Feb––0.810.87–0.93
Mar––1.151.3–1.52
Apr––1.41.61–1.95
May––1.611.95–2.45
Jun––1.742.29–2.79
Jul––1.982.51–2.85
Aug––1.862.33–2.6
Sep––1.491.86–2.08
Oct––1.151.33–1.49
Nov––0.840.9–0.96
Dec––0.650.68–0.68
Year––15.518.41–21.08

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 orange jessamine. 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 ratingJungle GeraniumIxora coccineanot 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 orange jessamine, 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 orange jessamine in summer?

In July, established orange jessamine in loam needs a deep watering 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 orange jessamine need per day?

In July on the south coast, established orange jessamine needs about 0.8 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across and about 3.2 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 orange jessamine change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates orange jessamine 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, moderate water in the South Coastal zone, moderate water 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.

Does orange jessamine attract the Asian citrus psyllid?

Yes. The psyllid feeds on orange jessamine and other citrus relatives, and it spreads a deadly citrus disease. Inspect new leaf flushes for twisted leaves, waxy specks and tiny insects. Contact your county agricultural commissioner if you find them.

Why does orange jessamine smell strongest at night?

Its flowers release most of their scent after dark. Plant it near a patio or window you use in the evening. Bloom comes in several flushes through the year.

How do I keep an orange jessamine hedge?

It can be clipped into a formal hedge as low as 2 to 3 feet. Run drip line along both sides so the whole row gets an even soak. Let the soil dry a few inches down before watering a clipped hedge again.

Can orange jessamine handle frost?

It tolerates an occasional light frost but not a hard freeze. Cover plants in the ground on frosty nights, or grow it in a pot you can move. Frost-damaged shoots can be trimmed once new growth starts.

Why are my orange jessamine leaves sticky?

Scale, mealybugs and whiteflies leave sticky honeydew, and black sooty mold grows on it. Check the undersides of leaves and the stems. Watering more or less will not clear them.

More plant watering guides

Wax PlantJungle GeraniumCalifornia Black WalnutEuropean LarchAlpine ToadflaxAustralian Fountain PalmSkunk CabbageDesert Ironwood

Sources