Ideas
Click on illustration. The plants used for landscaping in California are organized into four categories based
on their water-use. High water-use plants use as much water as a traditional lawn, and plants in the very low
water-use category use less than 10 percent of the water used by a lawn.
Which Plants Save Water?
Choosing plants that save water is simple, too,
because a plant's water use is described as a
percentage of the water use of cool season turf – the
traditional American lawn. Plants are organized
into four water-use categories using this system.
This allows you to group plants in your garden
based on their water use and irrigate efficiently.
It also allows you to estimate your water savings.
For instance, if you replace 50 percent of your coolseason turf lawn with low-water-use plants that use
70 percent less water, you can reduce your water
use by 35 percent.
Tip!
If you come across
a plant label that
uses terms like
drought-tolerant
or medium or
minimal water use,
ask the nursery
staff to identify
the plant's water
use category.
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