WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Lonicera fragrantissima, WUCOLS IV

How often to water sweet breath of spring in California

In July in the Central Valley, established sweet breath of spring in loam needs a deep watering about every 8 days: about 8.8 gallons each time for a plant 4 feet across, about 7.6 gallons a week. Sweet breath of spring, also called winter honeysuckle, is a bushy shrub from China that grows 6 to 10 feet tall and wide. Small, lemon-scented, creamy white flowers open on its bare branches in winter, when little else blooms. It grows in most soils in sun or part shade but does not tolerate wet ground.

ShrubRated for 3 of 6 zones

How often to water sweet breath of spring, 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 sweet breath of spring 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

  • Dry soil 3 to 4 inches down beneath the outer branches tells you the shrub is ready for a deep soak
  • Leathery leaves that wilt in afternoon heat and stay limp the next morning, with dry soil below, point to thirst
  • Leaves dropping in fall or early winter are normal for this deciduous to partly evergreen shrub, not a sign of thirst
  • Yellowing leaves and dying shoots over soil that stays wet for days point to waterlogged roots, which it does not tolerate
  • Powdery mildew shows as a white coating on the leaves and is a fungal disease, not a sign of thirst

How to water it

  • Water at the base with drip emitters or a soaker hose laid under the outer branches, keeping spray off the leaves
  • Soak until the soil is wet about 18 inches down, then let the top few inches dry before the next soak
  • Choose well-drained ground and keep the shrub out of low spots where winter rain stands
  • Spread wood chip mulch across the root zone, keeping it a few inches back from the stems
  • Move emitters outward as the shrub widens toward its full spread of 6 to 10 feet

Through the seasons

Give a new shrub deep soakings through its first summer, until its roots reach well past the planting hole. After that it handles short dry spells, though it grows best with deep soakings through the dry season. It drops some or all of its leaves in fall, holding more of them through a mild winter. Flowers open on bare stems from about December to March, and small red berries ripen in late spring. WUCOLS rates sweet breath of spring moderate water on the north-central coast, in the Central Valley and on the south coast. Winter rain covers the cool months in all three. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for South Inland, the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Sweet breath of spring reaches 6 to 10 feet across, so a pot is only a short-term home for a young plant. Choose a large tub with several drainage holes and a loose, quick-draining mix. Check 2 inches down every few days in summer, and daily during Central Valley heat. Water until it runs from the holes, then empty the saucer, since standing water harms the roots. In winter, while it blooms, rain often does the job, so feel the mix before you water.

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

Sweet Breath of Spring: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.370.40.78–––
Feb0.530.650.81–––
Mar0.871.091.15–––
Apr1.181.521.4–––
May1.462.081.61–––
Jun1.612.481.74–––
Jul1.612.671.98–––
Aug1.492.391.86–––
Sep1.241.81.49–––
Oct0.871.181.15–––
Nov0.470.560.84–––
Dec0.310.340.65–––
Year1217.1115.5–––

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 moderate water in the Central Valley, like sweet breath of spring. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

RosesRosa hybrids..bushmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyAzaleasRhododendron spp. (CA native and non-native spp.)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCamelliasCamellia japonica (SHADE IN DESERT)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyGardeniasGardenia spp. & cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBird of ParadiseStrelitzia reginae (shade in desert)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyHibiscusHibiscus rosa-sinensismoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySago PalmCycas revolutamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyStar JasmineTrachelospermum jasminoides and cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyArborvitaeThuja occidentalis ssp. & cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBambooBambusa spp.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyLilacsSyringa hybrids (including Descanso hybrids)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySpireaSpiraea spp. (CA native and non native spp.)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyButterfly BushBuddleja davidii and hybridsmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySageSalvia officinalis and cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyRed BuckeyeAesculus paviamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyWestern ServiceberryAmelanchier alnifoliamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in July

Similar plants that need less water 16

Rated lower than sweet breath of spring in the Central Valley. Worth a look for a new bed or a lawn replacement.

LavenderLavandula spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyRosemaryRosmarinus officinalislow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyBougainvilleaBougainvillea & spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyOlive TreesOlea europaea ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyCrape MyrtleLagerstroemia spp., hybrids & 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 JulyAloeAloe spp. & cvs.low 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 JulySagebrushArtemisia spp. (shrubby)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyWild PrivetLigustrum vulgarelow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyCoralberrySymphoricarpos orbiculatus (SHADE)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySydney Golden WattleAcacia longifolialow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyBlue Leaf WattleAcacia salignalow 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 sweet breath of spring, 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 sweet breath of spring in summer?

In July, established sweet breath of spring in loam needs a deep watering about every 8 days in the Central Valley and about every 11 days on the south coast. 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 sweet breath of spring need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established sweet breath of spring needs about 1.1 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across and about 4.3 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 sweet breath of spring change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates sweet breath of spring 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, 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.

When does sweet breath of spring bloom?

In mild climates it flowers from about December to March, before the new leaves appear. The small, creamy white flowers have a strong lemon scent. Honey bees work them on warm winter days.

When should I prune sweet breath of spring?

Prune to shape right after flowering ends. It can be grown as a clipped or informal hedge. Budded branches can also be cut and brought indoors for their scent.

Is sweet breath of spring invasive?

It has spread into woodlands and fields in many states, especially in the South, where it forms dense thickets. It is listed as invasive in North Carolina and as a noxious weed in one or more Midwestern states. Birds and small mammals eat the berries. Plant it well away from wild land, or choose a native shrub instead.

Can you overwater sweet breath of spring?

Yes. It copes with poor and dry soils but not with wet ones. Let the top few inches dry between soakings, and fix drainage wherever water stands after rain.

Will sweet breath of spring grow in shade?

It grows in full sun or part shade, though it performs best in full sun on well-drained soil. Shade slows drying, so check the soil before each soak.

Does sweet breath of spring keep its leaves in winter?

Partly. It is deciduous to semi-evergreen and keeps more leaves where winters are mild. Either way, the flowers open before the new leaves emerge.

More plant watering guides

Mexican Fan PalmCalifornia Fan PalmChinese Evergreen ElmCommon LilacTom's Point ManzanitaEuropean HackberrySea HollyRohdea

Sources