WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Potentilla anserina, WUCOLS IV

How often to water silverweed in California

In July on the south coast, established silverweed in loam needs a deep watering about every 5 days: about 1.5 gallons each time for a plant 2 feet across, about 2.3 gallons a week. Silverweed is a low, mat-forming perennial in the rose family that spreads by runners. Its leaves carry a double row of toothed leaflets, often silvery with fine hairs, and yellow five-petaled flowers appear from late spring through summer. A Pacific form grows wild in California freshwater marshes, and the plant wants reliably moist soil.

PerennialCalifornia nativeRated for 2 of 6 zones

How often to water silverweed, 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 silverweed 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 foot 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 an inch down beneath the mat signals that silverweed needs water, since it prefers ground that stays moist
  • Leaves curling and runners stalling in summer heat can indicate the soil has dried too far
  • Thin, bare patches opening in the mat after a dry spell can show where the roots went short of water
  • Yellowing, rotting leaves in a spot that never drains can mean even this moisture lover is waterlogged
  • A silvery sheen on the leaves comes from fine hairs, not from drought stress

How to water it

  • Water silverweed evenly across the whole mat so new runners root into moist soil
  • Keep the top few inches of soil damp, soaking again before the surface dries out completely
  • Plant in full sun in sand or clay, including low spots where water collects
  • Edge the bed if you want to stop runners from spreading into lawn or paths
  • Use it as a groundcover in moist places, such as a pond edge or a low spot fed by runoff

Through the seasons

Keep new plantings evenly moist until the runners root and the mat knits together. Established mats still want steady moisture, since the native form comes from freshwater marshes. Flowers appear from late spring through summer, when water use peaks. WUCOLS rates silverweed high water on the south coast and in South Inland. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for the north-central coast, the Central Valley, the high desert or the low desert. Winter rain helps on the coast, but check the soil in dry winter spells, since this plant should not dry out.

In pots

Silverweed spreads by runners, so a wide, shallow container or a hanging basket keeps it in bounds. Use a moisture-holding mix in a pot with drainage holes. Check the mix daily in summer heat and water before the surface dries. Water until excess drains away, and keep the saucer from overflowing onto paving. Snip runners that reach over the rim before they root outside the pot. In winter, keep the mix moist but not waterlogged.

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

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

Monthly water need by climate zone

Silverweed: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan––1.241.24––
Feb––1.291.39––
Mar––1.842.08––
Apr––2.232.58––
May––2.583.12––
Jun––2.783.67––
Jul––3.174.02––
Aug––2.983.72––
Sep––2.382.98––
Oct––1.842.13––
Nov––1.341.44––
Dec––1.041.09––
Year––24.829.46––

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 silverweed. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Lilyleaf LadybellsAdenophora liliifolianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingArnicaArnica montananot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingFrilly BergeniaBergenia ciliatanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingCabbage on a StickBrighamia insignisnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBasket PlantCallisia fragransnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingForest SedgeCarex sylvaticanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingUmbrella DracaenaDianella ensifolianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingRusty FoxgloveDigitalis ferrugineanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBig-Flowered FoxgloveDigitalis grandifloranot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingWoolly FoxgloveDigitalis lanatanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingSunset FoxgloveDigitalis obscuranot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMale FernDryopteris filix-masnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingAlpine Sea HollyEryngium alpinumnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingPurple SpurgeEuphorbia dulcisnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingQueen of the MeadowFilipendula ulmarianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingDropwortFilipendula vulgaris (Filipendula hexapetala)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 silverweed, 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 silverweed in summer?

In July, established silverweed in loam needs a deep watering about every 5 days on the south coast and about every 4 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 silverweed need per day?

In July on the south coast, established silverweed needs about 0.3 gallons a day for a plant 2 feet across and about 1.3 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 silverweed change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates silverweed separately for each of the six California climate zones: not evaluated in the North-Central Coastal zone, not evaluated in the Central Valley zone, high water in the South Coastal zone, high 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 silverweed a California native?

A Pacific form of silverweed grows wild in California freshwater marshes. It makes a low groundcover for moist places at lower elevations. Give garden plants the same damp soil.

Why are silverweed leaves silver?

A dense covering of fine hairs gives the leaves their silvery look. The color is natural and does not mean the plant is dry. Check the soil itself before watering.

Can silverweed take foot traffic?

It has some tolerance to being walked on, so it can soften the edge of a path. Set stepping stones where people cross it often.

Does silverweed spread?

Yes. It spreads by runners that root as they go, forming a mat. Edge the bed or grow it in a container if you want to contain it.

Can silverweed grow in poorly drained soil?

Yes. It tolerates poor drainage, clay and seasonal flooding, which makes it useful in low, wet spots. Full sun suits it best.

Are silverweed fruits edible?

No. The small fruits are not meant to be eaten. Wear gloves when handling the plant, and keep pets from chewing it.

More plant watering guides

Glaucous Scorpion VetchClublawn GrassWillowleaf CotoneasterMadagascar SagoIrish HeathUmbrella DracaenaRusty FoxgloveBig-Flowered Foxglove

Sources