WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Cyperus spp. (CA native and non-native species), WUCOLS IV

How often to water umbrella sedge and papyrus in California

In July in the Central Valley, established umbrella sedge and papyrus in loam need a deep watering about every 3 days: about 1.5 gallons each time for a plant 2 feet across, about 3.0 gallons a week. Umbrella sedges and papyrus belong to Cyperus, a large genus of sedges with sharply three-angled stems topped by spoke-like bracts or drooping heads of fine rays. WUCOLS groups California native and non-native kinds together. All are at home in bogs and water gardens, and in a dry garden bed they need plentiful water and rich soil.

PerennialCalifornia nativeRated for 6 of 6 zones

How often to water umbrella sedge and papyrus, 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 umbrella sedge and papyrus 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 drying at the surface around a papyrus clump means it is already short of water, since it grows best in constantly moist ground
  • Brown, dry tips on the umbrella rays in summer can follow dry soil or hot, windy weather
  • New stems coming up shorter than before can mean the soil has not stayed moist enough
  • Nutsedge sprouting in nearby beds or lawn points to waterlogged soil from runoff, leaks or too much spray around the clump

How to water it

  • Grow umbrella sedges and papyrus at a pond edge, in a bog bed or in rich soil that never dries out
  • Sink a potted papyrus in a pond with the pot up to 12 inches under water, and keep the smallest kinds in a few inches of water
  • In a garden bed, water deeply enough that the whole root zone stays moist, and mulch to slow surface drying
  • Shelter tall papyrus from wind, which bends the long stems under their heavy heads
  • Contain kinds that reseed or spread by rhizomes, and keep their wet bed from draining into lawn or drier plantings

Through the seasons

A new clump needs constantly moist soil from planting day on, and an established one needs the same. Papyrus grows wild in swamps, shallow lakes and stream banks, not on dry slopes. Papyrus is evergreen, blooms in summer, and spreads slowly outward on thick rhizomes. A hard freeze below about 20 to 25 degrees F can damage it. WUCOLS rates umbrella sedge and papyrus high water on the north-central coast, in the Central Valley, on the south coast and in South Inland. It also rates them high water in the high desert and the low desert. Winter rain helps along the coast and in the Central Valley, but desert beds still need water through the cool months.

In pots

Dwarf umbrella plants and compact papyrus grow well in pots, and a pot standing in a water tray is one of the few cases where wet feet help. In California summer heat, check the mix daily, since a small pot of these thirsty sedges dries quickly. Keep the mix wet to the touch and top up the tray as it drops. Tall papyrus needs a wide, heavy container sheltered from wind. Papyrus takes frost only to about 20 to 25 degrees F, so move pots to shelter before a hard freeze.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
4.27gal per sq ft in JulyHigh water use in the Central Valley zone
A year
27.38 gal per sq ft
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses
1.22.43.64.90.64JAN1.04FEB1.74MAR2.43APR3.32MAY3.97JUN4.27JUL3.82AUG2.88SEP1.88OCT0.89NOV0.55DEC1.22.43.64.90.64JFM2.43AMJ4.27JAS1.88OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 4.27 in Jul, 27.38 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Umbrella Sedge and Papyrus: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.60.641.241.241.191.24
Feb0.841.041.291.391.491.49
Mar1.391.741.842.082.332.43
Apr1.882.432.232.583.033.12
May2.333.322.583.123.823.92
Jun2.583.972.783.674.564.46
Jul2.584.273.174.024.864.56
Aug2.383.822.983.724.464.17
Sep1.982.882.382.983.423.32
Oct1.391.881.842.132.332.38
Nov0.740.891.341.441.491.54
Dec0.50.551.041.091.041.09
Year19.227.3824.829.4634.0333.73

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 high water in the Central Valley, like umbrella sedge and papyrus. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Japanese Sweet FlagAcorus gramineushigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyRed GingerAlpinia purpuratahigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyShell GingerAlpinia zerumbethigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulySiberian BuglossBrunnera macrophyllahigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyMarsh MarigoldCaltha palustrishigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyUmbrella PlantDarmera peltata (Peltiphyllum)high water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyFoxgloveDigitalis purpurea cvshigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyLeopard PlantFarfugium japonicum cvs. (Ligularia tussilaginea cvs.)high water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyTransvaal DaisyGerbera jamesonii & hybridshigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyGiant GunneraGunnera manicatahigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyWhite Ginger LilyHedychium coronariumhigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyJapanese IrisIris ensatahigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyRushJuncus aquatic spp. (native and non-native spp.)high water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyCardinal FlowerLobelia cardinalis hybrids and cvs. (CA native and non-native spp.)high water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyBananaMusa spp. (shade in low desert)high water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulySensitive FernOnoclea sensibilishigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in July

Similar plants that need less water 16

Rated lower than umbrella sedge and papyrus in the Central Valley. Worth a look for a new bed or a lawn replacement.

DahliasDahlia spp.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyFernsNephrolepis cordifolia (SHADE IN DESERT)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyDayliliesHemerocallis spp. & cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBegoniasBegonia & ssp. & cvs. (shade in the desert)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCalla LiliesZantedeschia aethiopica SHADE IN DESERTmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySageSalvia officinalis and cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBicolor MonkshoodAconitum cammarummoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyGarden MonkshoodAconitum napellusmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCarpet BugleAjuga reptans (shade)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySnowdrop WindflowerAnemone sylvestrismoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyMountain SandwortArenaria montanamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySwamp MilkweedAsclepias incarnatamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyOrange MilkweedAsclepias tuberosamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyGreater MasterwortAstrantia majormoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyHardy BegoniaBegonia grandismoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyWax BegoniaBegonia semperflorensmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 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 umbrella sedge and papyrus, 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 umbrella sedge and papyrus in summer?

In July, established umbrella sedge and papyrus in loam need a deep watering about every 3 days in the Central Valley, 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 do umbrella sedge and papyrus need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established umbrella sedge and papyrus need about 0.4 gallons a day for a plant 2 feet across and about 1.7 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 umbrella sedge and papyrus change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates umbrella sedge and papyrus separately for each of the six California climate zones: high water in the North-Central Coastal zone, high water in the Central Valley zone, high water in the South Coastal zone, high water in the South Inland zone, high water in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, high water in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Can papyrus grow in a pond?

Yes. Papyrus grows in or out of water and can sit with its pot up to 12 inches deep. Out of water it needs rich, constantly moist soil, and it grows shorter when the soil dries.

How tall does papyrus get?

Full-size papyrus is the tallest of the group and grows well over head height. Dwarf selections stay at about 2 to 7 feet, and some small Cyperus species reach only about a foot. Shelter the tall kinds from wind.

Is umbrella sedge the same as nutsedge?

They share the genus, but yellow and purple nutsedge are weeds, not garden plants. They spread by underground tubers and thrive in waterlogged soil. Pull them while they are small, before they form new tubers.

Is tall flatsedge a Cyperus?

Yes. Tall flatsedge, Cyperus eragrostis, is a large, light green sedge of wet, soggy soils. It grows in tight clumps and spreads by seed and by short, thick rhizomes. Unlike nutsedges, it makes no tubers.

How do I tell a Cyperus from a grass?

Feel the stem. A Cyperus stem is solid and three-angled in cross section, while a grass stem is hollow and round. Roll it between your fingers to find the edges.

More plant watering guides

Cardinal FlowerBananaSensitive FernRoyal FernRedwood SorrelPink KnotweedSoft Shield FernBlack Cottonwood

Sources