Drought Tolerant Landscaping Sacramento CA

If you want to know what measures to take when facing drought while saving water and reducing the water bill, you are in the right place. This article will give you all the information you need so you can successfully deal with the drought consequences in Sacramento, California.

So keep reading to learn the tricks and tips that will help you reduce your water bill while maintaining a curb appeal.

Drought Tolerant Landscaping Sacramento Ca – Everything You Should Know

Drought-Tolerant Landscaping Tips In Sacramento

There are many different terms surrounding low-water landscaping, which can be confusing at times. Some of the most common ones include:

• Drought-tolerant
• Drought adapted
• Drought-resistant
• Climate-adapted
• Native plants
• Summer-dry
• Low-water
• Mediterranean
• Watershed Approach
• Water-free
• Water-wise
• Water smart
• Xeriscape

If you are not familiar with many of these terms and feel overwhelmed by them, it can be a good idea to get a solid understanding of each and what they involve. This will help you find the differences between these approaches so you can ultimately choose the ones most suitable for you.

1. Set Goals

Consider the following aspects:

• How much water do you want to use?

If you don’t plan to use supplemental water after the plants are already established, your plant selection may look different from somebody willing to water each week or two.

• What other landscape goals do you have in mind?

Low maintenance after establishment, pollinator garden, refund from your city’s rebate programs, four-season color, and a specific garden theme or color scheme can be just some of them.

• What is your budget?

It’s important to write down your budget. In case you see it is unrealistic sometime later, you can do a project in stages. However, with the amount of DIY potential along with the available rebates, the project can be quite affordable for you without stressing too much about money.

2. Do Some Research

Take time to do the research and successfully plan the project. First, look at the local plant lists online, then you can visit or call local plant centers.

If you plan to re-do your entire backyard or front yard (or both), it can be a great idea to hire a landscape architect or landscape design firm so you can get the help of a professional.

However, if you plan to plant in the summer, you should reconsider it. Experts do not recommend planting during the summer season due to Sacramento’s dry season. Instead, you can wisely use that time doing the necessary research, as well as installing new plants during the fall once the rain returns.

This can eliminate and reduce supplemental watering while your new plants become properly established, which can save you a lot of time and money.

3. Consider Mapping Out the Design

You can either leave it to the professionals or go for DIY. If you choose the latter option, grab some paper and pen or pull up Calscape Garden Planner of CNPS (the California Native Plant Society).

The former is especially helpful since it is an interactive guide you can use to get a sketch in just four clicks. It only asks for your city, gardening priorities, sun/shade exposure, and preferred garden style. After you answer these four questions, you will get several visual layouts as well as native plant recommendations for the garden.

4. Group Your Plants by Water Needs

Be it hand-watering your plants or using a sprinkler system, this is a piece of garden advice that can be highly beneficial. Start by designing the landscape and group plants by low, medium, high, or no supplemental water needs. This method is known as hydrozoning, which helps eliminate or reduce wasted water, energy, and time.

5. Install Native Plants

You have probably heard about these plants before. Native plants are those that became acclimated to the conditions and climate of the area. They also bring various benefits to local lawns, such as:

• Inviting beneficial insects like butterflies and bees as well as wildlife
• Using less water compared to the majority of non-native plants
• Requiring less or no chemicals and fertilizer
• Requiring less maintenance compared to non-natives
• Helping maintain the local ecosystem balance

However, please note that native does not always mean “no water after established” or ”very low water”. Although they don’t usually use as much water as grass or several other thirsty plants, it’s recommended to know the plant’s water requirements prior to buying.

Here are some of the popular California native plants fitting a low-water bill:

• California white sage
• California goldfields
• Island pink yarrow
• Yellow mariposa lily
• Bladderpod
• Buckbrush
• California cudweed
• California fuchsia

6. Mulch the Garden

Mulch includes anything that covers a soil surface. In the case of desert gardens, this is typically rocks, while in other climates, it’s anything from bark mulch, newspaper, pine straw, or grass clippings, amongst others.

Mulch is highly valuable in the majority of climates, particularly in areas with drought. So why is mulch such a popular ground cover? There are many reasons for it, such as:

• Moderating temperature swings
• Reducing erosion
• Reducing weeds
• Reducing soil moisture loss
• Feeding the soil while it breaks down

Additionally, you can choose from many textural forms. Rocks, bark, and straw contribute a different, unique aesthetic to the garden. But that’s not all; you have even more options when it comes to colors; white, grey, black, brown, and red. Also, rocks come in different sizes, textures, and colors.

So as you can see, mulch will function like a canvas upon which you can build the drought-tolerant tapestry. And considering the variety of options you have, you can use your creativity to your advantage.

7. Consider Using Hardscapes in the Landscape

Hardscaping (the non-living elements in the lawn) is just as important as softscaping (plant life). There are many popular hardscaping elements, including:

• Stepping stones
• Walkways
• Driveways
• Seating benches
• Fences
• Steps
• Walls
• Boulders
• Fire pits, outdoor kitchens, as well as eating areas

And now you may be wondering how hardscaping relates to drought-resistant landscaping. For starters, it does not require water, and hardscapes are crucial for most lawns. Furthermore, it’s better to be careful about the hardscaping you plan to install.

If you are considering covering the ground with stones, concrete, or another material, you should opt for pavers or at least leave spaces in between the bits of concrete or stone. By doing so, the water will be able to sink into the ground and not runoff into a stormwater system.

Keep in mind that these strategies are just one type of permeable hardscaping. You have other options as well, including manufactured permeable systems or patios for home hardscaping and decomposed granite for walkways, among others.

Moreover, you can prevent the water from escaping your property by water collection or simply allowing it to go into the soil. After the water permeates it, the plants and microbes inside the soil clean water before it’s released into the air through your plants or enters the waterways. This reduces pollution levels in the local stormwater system as well as provides your plans with natural rainwater.

In short, hardscaping is the lawn’s key functional element that can also retain more water on the property.

8. Try Reducing the Grass

If you want to remove the lawn, you should try reducing it first. In case you will like how it looks, you can keep removing as much grass as you’d like. There are many good reasons why you should reduce the grass on the lawn, such as:

• Lowering water bill
• Adding four-season colors through perennials, trees, shrubs, etc.
• Less grass equals less water use for the home
• Less maintenance, mowing, fertilizer, and chemicals
• The lawn won’t be crunchy and brown
• Going from the monochromatic to the multi-chromatic
• More opportunities for encouraging pollinators and wildlife

Usually, up to 60 percent of the home water use goes into a landscape. This means that if you reduce or eliminate a lawn and replace it with plants that do not use supplemental irrigation, you will reduce the water use and consequently water bill.

How to Manage Drought in the Sacramento Landscape – Tips and Tricks

Drought in the Central Valley of California is quite common. Here are some tips to ensure your landscape thrives in these tough times.

1. Plan

Since you know that your plants will not get any rainfall for six months throughout the year, you can plan for that. In case you’d like to install the plants that will require water each week or every few weeks, you can install the rain or greywater collection system. If you rather opt for zero supplemental watering, ensure to only install the plants that can survive in your area during winter and fall rains.

Keep in mind that even with the most ideal planning, your plants may die. But don’t worry too much about it. Rather, use that as the opportunity for experimenting with another plant or the exact same plant but in a completely different microclimate in the lawn. Alternatively, you can plant more of those that turn out to be successful in that spot.

2. Irrigate

Do you have plants that require irrigation every now and then? Then you need to ensure that the irrigation system isn’t wasting any resources. How can you do so? There are several methods to try, including:

• Planting and watering in zones

Start by installing the plants with similar water requirements together. Set the irrigation system in a way to give enough water to every zone.

• Maintain your system

Ask your irrigation company to do regular maintenance on the irrigation system. Ensure you are not watering any sidewalks, and use the tuna cans for measuring each zone before a dry season. This will help you use the appropriate amount of water with no excess or waste.

3. Limit the Use of Fertilizer

Most native plants require very little or no fertilizer at all. Moreover, the extra growth will equal higher water needs. So to keep things low-maintenance and low-water, pay attention to the plants that don’t require such intervention to thrive.

4. Use a Rain Barrel or Greywater System

Greywater systems qualify for the city rebate and are an efficient water-saving way for reusing this natural resource. Note that you will require to use a low-salt, biodegradable detergent as well as several other details, however, it’s a wonderful option to consider, particularly for ornamental plants. It can be more complicated for the vegetable gardens, but for the ornamentals, it’s simple. Also, keep in mind that you can use rain barrels on ornamental plants and veggies as well.

FAQ

1. How long does it take until the plants become established?

It varies. It can be a full year for the perennials (shrubs and trees take longer), however, it depends on a specific plant as well as how quickly it’ll establish roots. Planting during the fall season will likely require regular watering (supplemental or rainfall) in both fall and spring. When summer arrives, pay close attention to it. In case you notice any signs of distress, it may still require supplemental water.

2. What other benefits does drought-tolerant landscaping have?

Besides saving money and conserving water resources, here are other advantages you can enjoy:

• Customizing landscape in a way that complements your home
• You need less outdoor maintenance
• Low-water landscapes can be a selling point for many homebuyers
• More colors
• More enjoyment from the landscape
• Well-maintained and beautifully designed landscapes can add a long-term value

3. Are the succulents low-water use plants?

The succulents are typically regarded as low-water-use plants, which are frequently used in xeriscaping as well as other low-water landscaping. But most of them still need watering periodically, more frequently during the summer, and significantly less or zero supplemental irrigation during the winter. Furthermore, there are certain plants that do not require water once established. Some of them include cacti, yucca, agave, and dasylirion.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are many important aspects to consider when it comes to this topic. All you need to do now is to use the tips and tricks mentioned above to ensure you are ready for the drought.