WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Ilex vomitoria ssp. & cvs., WUCOLS IV

How often to water yaupon holly in California

In July in the Central Valley, established yaupon holly 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. Yaupon holly is an evergreen shrub or small tree from the southeastern United States and Mexico. Its small, glossy, leathery leaves lack the prickles of most hollies. Female plants carry red berries from fall into winter. It tolerates drought better than most hollies, and it also handles occasional flooding.

ShrubRated for 6 of 6 zones

How often to water yaupon holly, 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 yaupon holly 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

  • Soil dry 3 inches down under the outer branches in summer means it is time for a deep soak
  • Small leaves dulling and curling on a young plant in heat, with dry soil below, can point to thirst
  • Light dots stippling the leaves in hot, dusty weather can point to spider mites, which hit water-stressed plants hardest
  • Yellowing leaves over soil that stays soggy for weeks point to poor drainage, even on a shrub that takes brief flooding

How to water it

  • Water across the root zone out to the branch tips with drip or a soaker hose rather than spraying the foliage
  • Soak until water reaches about 18 inches down, then let the top few inches dry before the next soak
  • Spread wood chip mulch over the root zone, kept a few inches off the stems
  • Plant it in almost any soil that drains, including sandy or alkaline ground
  • Widen the watered area as the shrub fills out, and remove root suckers unless you want a thicket

Through the seasons

Water a new yaupon holly deeply through its first summer, widening the soaked area as roots spread. Established plants tolerate drought better than most hollies. It stays evergreen, blooms in April with small, fragrant flowers, and female plants hold red berries from fall into winter. Summer is when soil checks matter most. Winter rain covers the cool months on the coast and in the Central Valley, while both deserts need checks in dry winter spells. WUCOLS rates it moderate water on the north-central coast, in the Central Valley, in the high desert and in the low desert. It rates low water on the south coast and in South Inland.

In pots

Yaupon holly works as a specimen in a large container. A dwarf form keeps the plant in scale with the pot. Check the mix 2 inches down every few days in summer, and daily in valley or desert heat. Water until it runs from the drainage holes, then empty the saucer. The plant grows in shade as well as sun, so a pot in afternoon shade dries more slowly. In winter the evergreen leaves still use some water, so check the mix after dry spells.

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
0.761.52.33.00.4JAN0.65FEB1.09MAR1.52APR2.08MAY2.48JUN2.67JUL2.39AUG1.8SEP1.18OCT0.56NOV0.34DEC0.761.52.33.00.4JFM1.52AMJ2.67JAS1.18OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 2.67 in Jul, 17.11 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Yaupon Holly: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.370.40.310.310.740.78
Feb0.530.650.320.350.930.93
Mar0.871.090.460.521.461.52
Apr1.181.520.560.641.891.95
May1.462.080.640.782.392.45
Jun1.612.480.690.922.852.79
Jul1.612.670.7913.042.85
Aug1.492.390.740.932.792.6
Sep1.241.80.60.742.142.08
Oct0.871.180.460.531.461.49
Nov0.470.560.330.360.930.96
Dec0.310.340.260.270.650.68
Year1217.116.27.3721.2721.08

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 yaupon holly. 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 yaupon holly 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 yaupon holly, 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 yaupon holly in summer?

In July, established yaupon holly in loam needs a deep watering about every 8 days in the Central Valley, about every 27 days on the south coast and about every 22 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 yaupon holly need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established yaupon holly 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 yaupon holly change across California?

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

Why does my yaupon holly have no berries?

Yaupon has separate male and female plants, and only females bear fruit. A female needs a male nearby that blooms at the same time. Some named cultivars are male and never fruit. More sun also brings more berries.

Can yaupon holly grow in shade?

Yes. It grows from full sun to deep shade. In heavy shade the canopy is thinner and it sets less fruit. Shade also slows soil drying, so check before each soak.

How do I stop yaupon holly from spreading?

It sends up root suckers and can form a dense thicket. Remove the suckers promptly unless you want a naturalized screen.

Can yaupon holly take salt spray?

Yes. It tolerates salt spray and is used as a windbreak and in coastal plantings. On the south coast, WUCOLS rates it low water.

Is yaupon holly a fire risk?

It carries a high flammability rating. Keep it out of the planting zone right next to the house and use low flammability plants there. Watering does not change that rating.

Does yaupon holly contain caffeine?

Yes. The leaves contain caffeine, and the dried, roasted leaves and twigs make a stimulating tea. Young leaves can be picked, browned and dried in an oven, then steeped in hot water.

More plant watering guides

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Sources