Native plants don’t need as much water

I’ll “wade” in. Some recent letters have complained about dire financial losses if they can only water their $100,000 landscaping twice a week under water restrictions. Why do we need water restrictions? Dern, this is the driest year on record on the heels of the last drought we never fully recovered from, we’ve replumbed all surface water, permanently lowered water tables, and as a result are driving several aquatic species to extinction (salmon included). Dern, despite living in a biodiversity hotspot with over 1,500 species native only to our Mediterranean climate, we plant the same exotic nonnative water hogs that often don’t support native wildlife. Dern, we don’t water efficiently to make plants more drought resilient.

If your plants can’t survive with a generous watering twice a week, then you planted the wrong plants and you may be watering incorrectly. CA natives are adapted to our Mediterranean climate, which means they stay more hydrated (and fire resilient) than exotics adapted to summer wet environments. Instead of Japanese maple, try California lilac or manzanita. They thrive with a light spray down once or twice a month. If you insist on planting nonnatives, watering a little longer less frequently encourages deeper roots, making plants more drought (and fire) resilient. You can also prune plants to conserve water. Residential water use: 7% of total in CA, with 40-60% of that used on outdoor irrigation (UCANR). When there is not enough water to go around, 7% is no mere drop in the bucket!

— Adrienne Edwards, Chico