Do your plants really need water today?
If you’re not sure, you’re not alone.
For many Arizona homeowners, landscape watering can feel like a guessing game. We inherit irrigation schedules from the previous homeowner. We water because it’s Tuesday. We water because it’s hot outside. Sometimes we water because we haven’t thought about it in a while and suddenly feel guilty.
“We inherit irrigation schedules from the previous homeowner. We water because it’s Tuesday. We water because it’s hot outside.”
The problem? Arizona landscapes are often watered two to five times more than they need. That means wasted water, higher utility bills, runoff into the street, and sometimes even unhealthy plants.
The good news is that watering doesn’t have to be guesswork.
We’re excited to announce the release of the newly updated Landscape Watering by the Numbers: A Guide for the Arizona Desert—one of Arizona’s most trusted resources for landscape watering.
Whether you’re a first-time homeowner, a longtime desert gardener, or a landscape professional, this refreshed guide is packed with practical tools to help you water smarter, save water, and keep your landscape looking its best.
More Than a Guide—A Complete Watering Resource
This isn’t just a quick update.
The guide has been completely refreshed with new content, simplified explanations, practical examples, and expanded online resources designed to make landscape watering easier to understand than ever before.
Inside, you’ll learn:
- How much water your plants actually need
- How deep to water for healthier roots
- How many emitters to use
- How long to run your irrigation system
- How many days to wait between waterings
- How to adjust your irrigation throughout the year
In other words, all the numbers that matter—and how to use them.
Why It Matters
More than half of a household’s annual water use typically happens outdoors. That’s a huge opportunity for savings.
Even small improvements to your watering practices can save thousands of gallons of water each year while helping your plants thrive.
What’s New?
The updated guide includes:
- Easy-to-use charts and quick-reference tables
- Pro Tips and Key Takeaways throughout
- One-page tear-out quick guides for watering different types of plants
- Step-by-step watering calculations
- Practical troubleshooting guidance
- QR codes linking to expanded online tools, videos, and resources (all available right here on the Water – Use It Wisely website)
Added to these new features you’ll find information on rainwater harvesting, graywater use, water-saving benefits of mulch, irrigation maintenance, seasonal controller adjustments, and other water-saving strategies.
Watering Is Part Science, Part Art
Every landscape is different. Soil type, plant selection, sun exposure, slope, and irrigation system design all play a role.
That’s why one of the guide’s central messages is simple:
Watering is part science, part art.
The guide provides the science. Your landscape helps you refine the art.
Explore the New Interactive Experience
In addition to the updated guide, we’ve created an expanded online experience featuring interactive watering guides, calculators, videos, and additional how-to resources.
Plus, when trying to fine-tune your watering schedule, troubleshoot an irrigation issue, or simply understand how much water your plants need, you’ll find tools to help every step of the way.
Get the Guide
The updated Landscape Watering by the Numbers: A Guide for the Arizona Desert is available now.
👉 Explore the interactive guides, flipbook, and online resources at: WaterUseItWisely.com/HowToWater
👉 Prefer a printed copy?
Contact your local water provider or visit our watering guide page for a request form.
Whether you’re caring for a few shrubs, a yard full of desert-adapted plants, or a lawn that needs a little extra attention, the guide can help you water with confidence—not guesswork.
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It takes a village to update a guide!
Updating a resource like Landscape Watering by the Numbers is truly a collaborative effort, and we’re grateful to the many professionals who generously shared their time, knowledge, and expertise to help ensure this guide reflects today’s best practices for desert landscape watering.
A very big THANK YOU to our Technical Advisory Group:
Doug Donahue, AZ Irrigation Guy; Jeff Lee and Jeremiah Churchill, Town of Gilbert; Andrew Pirrone, City of Goodyear; Steve Priebe, Horticulturist; Victoria Caster, City of Peoria; Aaron Boydston, City of Phoenix; Dave Pratt, City of Scottsdale; Sandra Hurlbut, City of Surprise; Andi Couet and Ryan Wood, City of Tempe; Cody Wooden, City of Tucson; and Dr. Ursula Schuch, University of Arizona.
In addition, a heartfelt thank you to Dave Seibert for providing both the stunning landscape photography and the technical irrigation photographs featured on the cover and throughout the guide.
Special thanks to Carrie McNulty of Courier Graphics for patiently guiding us through the complexities of a large printing project and helping make statewide group orders possible.
And finally, thank you to Lauren Anderson of HAPI for her exceptional creative direction, design, and layout—and for her patience throughout the many rounds of revisions. Her talent helped transform a highly technical publication into a guide that’s both beautiful and easy to use.
Donna DiFrancesco is a Horticulturist and Conservation Coordinator with the City of Mesa, AZ, one of 23 Water – Use It Wisely partners to offer water-saving advice and programs. She dreams of someday taking on a superhero persona as Xeriscape Woman, wearing a large “X” on her chest, and carrying an ironwood branch magic wand that will turn dull, grassy lawns into beautiful Xeriscapes.