WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Prunus lusitanica, WUCOLS IV

How often to water Portugal laurel in California

In July on the north-central coast, established Portugal laurel in loam needs a deep watering about every 13 days: about 55 gallons each time under a 10 foot canopy, about 29 gallons a week. Portugal laurel is a dense, evergreen shrub or small tree from the mountain forests of Spain and Portugal, with glossy dark green leaves. In spring it carries long, fragrant spikes of white flowers, followed by purple berries. It takes heavy pruning, so it is often grown as a hedge, and it is drought tolerant once established.

TreeRated for 2 of 6 zones

How often to water Portugal laurel, month by month

Your city
Canopy width
10 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 Portugal laurel 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 under the branches, 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 canopy width

A tree with its canopy width marked across the widest branches and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the branches, from the tips of the outer leaves on one side to the tips on the other. A tape works, or pace it out.

Water the whole circle under the branches, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that circle.

A wider canopy means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While the tree is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Soil dry 4 inches down under the branches in summer signals Portugal laurel needs a deep soak
  • Glossy leaves going dull and drooping in the afternoon can indicate thirst
  • Leaf drop from inside a hedge during a long dry spell can follow a dry root zone
  • White powdery patches on new leaves point to powdery mildew rather than a water problem
  • Notched leaf edges suggest vine weevil feeding, not drought

How to water it

  • Water the full length of a hedge with drip lines on both sides
  • Wet the root zone a foot deep, and hold off until the top few inches have dried
  • Plant in average, well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade
  • Mulch beneath the canopy to slow drying, keeping it off the trunks
  • Widen drip coverage as the shrub or hedge grows

Through the seasons

Water a new Portugal laurel regularly through its first summer while roots grow out. Once established it is drought tolerant, though hedges in hot spots benefit from deep summer soaks. It is evergreen and flowers in spring. Winter rain covers the cool months near the coast. Both the north-central coast and the south coast carry a moderate water rating from WUCOLS. Hot inland and desert regions do not suit it: WUCOLS marks it as not suited to South Inland, the high desert or the low desert. The Central Valley has not been evaluated.

In pots

Portugal laurel makes a handsome container shrub or clipped topiary. Use a large pot of well-drained mix. Water when the top 2 inches are dry and let it drain fully. On hot days a pot can dry in a few days. Empty the saucer each time. Clip after flowering to keep a topiary shape. In winter, rain may be enough, so check before watering. Move up a pot size when roots fill the old one.

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

WUCOLS lists Portugal Laurel as not evaluated for the Central Valley zone, so no monthly figure is computed here.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Portugal Laurel: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.37–0.78–––
Feb0.53–0.81–––
Mar0.87–1.15–––
Apr1.18–1.4–––
May1.46–1.61–––
Jun1.61–1.74–––
Jul1.61–1.98–––
Aug1.49–1.86–––
Sep1.24–1.49–––
Oct0.87–1.15–––
Nov0.47–0.84–––
Dec0.31–0.65–––
Year12–15.5–––

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 Portugal laurel. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Hawthorn MapleAcer crataegifoliumnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMountain MapleAcer glabrumnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMiyabe MapleAcer miyabeinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingEverglades PalmAcoelorraphe wrightiinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingPink CedarAcrocarpus fraxinifoliusnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingYellowwoodAfrocarpus falcatus (Podocarpus falcatus)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingNew Caledonian PineAraucaria columnaris (A. cookii)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingFormosa Sugar PalmArenga englerinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingNeemAzadirachta indicanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBismarck PalmBismarckia nobilisnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingAmerican HornbeamCarpinus caroliniananot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingJapanese HornbeamCarpinus japonicanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingAmerican YellowwoodCladrastis kentukeanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingPagoda DogwoodCornus alternifolianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingGiant DogwoodCornus controversanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingButterfly PalmDypsis lutescens (Areca)not 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 Portugal laurel, 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 Portugal laurel need per day?

In July on the north-central coast, established Portugal laurel needs about 4.1 gallons a day under a 10 foot canopy and about 16 gallons a day under a 20 foot canopy. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for Portugal laurel change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates Portugal laurel separately for each of the six California climate zones: moderate water in the North-Central Coastal zone, not evaluated in the Central Valley zone, moderate water in the South Coastal zone, not suited to this region in the South Inland zone, not suited to this region in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, not suited to this region in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Can Portugal laurel be used as a hedge?

Yes, it is very tolerant of pruning and makes a dense hedge or privacy screen. It can also be shaped as topiary. Water the whole hedge line evenly.

How big does Portugal laurel get?

It grows to about 10 to 12 feet tall and wide over many years. Trained as a tree, it can grow taller. Pruning keeps it smaller.

Are Portugal laurel berries poisonous?

The plant carries a low poison rating. Do not eat the purple berries. Keep children and pets from them.

Why does my Portugal laurel have white powder?

That is powdery mildew. Avoid overhead watering and improve air flow. It is not a sign the plant needs more water.

How do I propagate Portugal laurel?

Take softwood stem cuttings in spring. Keep them lightly moist in well-drained mix until they root. Plant them out in fall or the next spring.

More plant watering guides

Rusty FoxgloveBig-Flowered FoxgloveWoolly FoxgloveSunset FoxgloveMale FernButterfly PalmAlpine Sea HollyAbyssinian Coral Tree

Sources