How often to water pinwheel flower in California
In July on the south coast, established pinwheel flower 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. Pinwheel flower, also called crepe jasmine, is a rounded evergreen shrub with glossy leaves and waxy white blooms whose petals twist like a pinwheel. This double-flowered form, 'Flore Pleno', blooms most heavily in warm months. It looks best in filtered shade and acidic soil, and its stems bleed milky sap when cut.
How often to water pinwheel flower, month by month
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.
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.
How to tell it needs water
- Soil dry 2 to 3 inches down beneath the shrub means pinwheel flower is ready for water
- Glossy leaves turning dull and limp on a hot afternoon, and staying that way, point to dry roots
- Yellow new leaves with green veins in alkaline soil point to chlorosis rather than thirst
- Sticky leaves with black sooty mold point to scale insects, not a watering problem
- Leaves yellowing while the soil stays soggy suggest poor drainage
How to water it
- Water pinwheel flower at the base with drip or a soaker, wetting the full root zone
- Soak the soil about a foot deep, then let the top couple of inches dry before the next watering
- Plant in moist, well-drained, acidic soil in filtered or partial shade
- Mulch with pine needles or bark to keep roots cool
- Widen the watered area as the shrub fills out toward its mature spread
Through the seasons
Keep a new pinwheel flower evenly moist through its first summer while roots spread. Once established it needs less water, though it thrives with steady moisture in well-drained soil. It is evergreen and blooms most in the warm months. A hard freeze kills it back, but it usually recovers quickly. WUCOLS rates pinwheel flower 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
Pinwheel flower makes a handsome container shrub for a shaded patio. Use a pot with drainage holes and a rich, slightly acidic mix. In summer, check 2 inches down every few days and water when that layer is dry. Let the excess drain, then empty the saucer. A hard freeze can kill it back, so move the pot under cover on the coldest nights. Feed it through the growing season if new leaves come in yellow, a sign of alkaline conditions.
- A year
- no figure
- Reference
- Sacramento climate table
- Counts
- Plant need, before sprinkler losses
WUCOLS lists Pinwheel Flower as not evaluated for the Central Valley zone, so no monthly figure is computed here.
Monthly water need by climate zone
Pinwheel Flower: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone
| Month | N. Coast | C. Valley | S. Coast | S. Inland | Hi Desert | Lo 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 16
Rated not evaluated in the Central Valley, like pinwheel flower. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.
Formosa Sugar PalmArenga englerinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Chilean Feather BambooChusquea culeou (C. breviglumis)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
BlackbrushColeogyne ramosissimanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Glaucous Scorpion VetchCoronilla valentina glaucanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Willowleaf CotoneasterCotoneaster salicifoliusnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Madagascar SagoCycas thouarsii (SHADE)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Irish HeathDaboecia cantabricanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Butterfly PalmDypsis lutescens (Areca)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Umbrella BambooFargesia murielaenot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Blue Fountain BambooFargesia nitida (Sinarundinaria nitida) (BAMBOO)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Prickly HeathGaultheria mucronata (Pernettya mucronata)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
OtterbossieGossypium harknessiinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Box-leaved HollyIlex crenatanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Bellyache BushJatropha gossypiifolianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Mountain LaurelKalmia latifolianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Barbados CherryMalpighia glabranot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingTurn this into minutes on your water days
Every city page has a calculator that takes pinwheel flower, 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 pinwheel flower need per day?
In July on the south coast, established pinwheel flower 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 pinwheel flower change across California?
Yes. WUCOLS rates pinwheel flower 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.
Why is it called pinwheel flower?
Its white petals twist and curve like a child's pinwheel. This form, 'Flore Pleno', has double flowers with extra petals.
Is pinwheel flower fragrant?
Some sources describe the flowers as most fragrant at night, while many gardeners notice little scent at all. Fragrance has no bearing on how you water it.
Why are my pinwheel flower leaves yellow?
In alkaline soil, new leaves often turn yellow with green veins. Regular feeding helps on slightly alkaline soil, and acidic soil prevents the problem.
Will pinwheel flower survive frost?
A hard freeze can kill it back, but it tends to recover quickly. Cut out dead wood once new growth appears.
Can you overwater pinwheel flower?
Yes. It wants moist but well-drained soil. Let the top couple of inches dry between waterings, and avoid low spots where water stands.
More plant watering guides
Sources
- WUCOLS IV plant water use classification for Tabernaemontana divaricata 'Flore Pleno', the University of California survey California agencies use for landscape plan reviewRead August 23, 2026 on wucols.ucdavis.edu
- Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance, adopted text and appendices, effective 2025-01-02 · monthly reference evapotranspiration per city, Appendix CRead August 23, 2026 on water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Programs/Water-Use-And-Efficiency/MWELO-Rulemaking/Final-MWELO-Text-and-Appendices_20250103.pdf
- UC Statewide IPM Program, irrigation scheduling using evapotranspirationRead September 30, 2026 on ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/ENVIRON/evap.html
- Shaw and Pittenger, Landscape Irrigation System Evaluation and Management, UC Cooperative Extension, 2009Read September 30, 2026 on ucanr.edu/sites/default/files/2013-02/160836.pdf
- Pittenger, Water Management in Gardens and Landscapes, UC Riverside, 2017Read September 30, 2026 on ucanr.edu/sites/default/files/2017-03/258022.pdf