Cooler and more normal temperatures are in the forecast with possible showers on Sunday! December 22 brought a welcome one inch or more of rain to most areas in Mesa.
Remember, when you get at least one-half inch, you can set your controller to the 'off' 'stop' or 'rain' setting to stop the watering cycle without disturbing your programs. It will help save water and money. In fact, your annual wastewater fee is determined by your winter water usage. Reducing water use during the months of December through March will mean a lower wastewater charge for the upcoming year.
If frost is in the forecast and you have sensitive plants, learn how to protect them in this University of Arizona publication.
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Recommendations below are for plants that are established in the landscape (in the ground about two years).
- Desert Adapted - once every 35 days
- High Water Use - once every 18 days
- Desert Adapted - once every 45 days
- High Water Use - once every 21 days
- Desert Adapted - once every 30 days
- High Water Use - once every 14 days
Cacti and succulent watering
Annuals & vegetable watering
- Once every 7-10 days (or more if you are starting seeds)
Wildflower watering
- Once every once every 12-15 days if no rain
Note: These recommendations are a general guideline only and may need to be modified for your specific site conditions.
Landscape Watering by the Numbers: Don’t forget our online, interactive watering guide. If you input some simple information about your landscape irrigation system, it will tell you how long to water to give your plants just the right amount with these frequencies.
Top Desert Trees For Your Home Landscape
Thur., January 18, 6:15 to 8:45 p.m. Zoom. This Desert Institute of Gardening (DIG) online class is offered by UofA Maricopa County Master Gardeners. Speaker Katie Coates is a Certified Desert Landscape Designer and Master Gardener. She will talk about selecting and planting new trees for shade, reduced energy costs, cleaning the air, making our neighborhoods more beautiful, and more. Get tickets.
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2024 East Valley Citrus Clinic
Sat., January 20, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Located at Greenfield Citrus Nursery, 2558 E Lehi Road, Mesa. Learn more and purchase tickets.
The Citrus Clinic features the foremost state citrus experts, including University of Arizona faculty and noted local professionals. The experts will present eight learning stations. While you are there, do not miss the display of more than 100 citrus varieties and sample many of the varieties made available that day.
Choose 5 of the 8 stations listed below and rotate every 30 minutes:
- Citrus Display and Tasting
- Citrus Fertilizing
- Date Palms for the Home Grower
- Citrus Planting and Care
- Deciduous Fruit Trees
- Citrus Pests
- Citrus Diseases
- Citrus Irrigation
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SRP Shade Tree Workshops
The 2024 classes are now open! Get two free shade trees by attending an SRP Shade Tree workshop on January 25, February 10, or February 24. SRP is offering desert-adapted shade trees to help lower your home cooling costs and improve air quality without using a lot of water. Learn more.
These are for SRP electric customers only. Stay tuned as Mesa will be offering a similar program for City of Mesa Electric customers in early spring.
Visit our Trees Are Cool interactive website to learn how reducing energy and planting more trees can contribute to our climate action goals. If you get trees from SRP to plant, please be sure to visit this site to register them.
Photo: Thornless Mesquite
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Spring Gardening in Arizona
Thur., January 25, 6 to 7 p.m. Mesa Main Library. The spring gardening season is short, but spring is the best time to grow many of our favorite crops. Don't miss this opportunity to meet presenter, Angela Judd, a Mesa urban farmer, Master Gardener, and the author of "How to Grow Your Own Food." Free! Get the details.
This program is co-sponsored by Mesa Public Library and Mesa Urban Garden, recently designated as a People's Garden through a USDA grant.
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Fall & Winter Leaf Drop - It's Natural
December and January is a typical time for leaf yellowing and partial or complete leaf drop on plants such as palo verdes, native mesquites, desert willows (seen in photo), elms, ash, pistache, and even shrubs like Texas sage. Leaf-litter provides beneficial mulch for your plants or can be added to your compost.
Don't forget, Mesa offers its residents a $5 compost bin made from a repurposed trash container.
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There's Still Time to Treecycle
Christmas tree recycling drop-off sites will be open through Jan. 16. Collected trees can be sustainably reused as garden mulch or marine habitat. Get the details!
At this link, you'll also learn how to donate your live Christmas tree to plant at a Mesa park.
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Updates on the Colorado River Supplies
The Colorado River system is reaping the benefits of last winter’s above-average snowfall. In addition, several cities, including Mesa, and other Colorado River users committed to leaving water in Lake Mead to add to the favorable hydrology and keep the elevation well above critical operational levels.
Learn more about why the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has officially taken the shortage from a Tier 2a back to a Tier 1 shortage in this blog by AMWUA, What Does it Mean Now that the Colorado River is in a Tier 1 Shortage?
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This Resolution Will Save Water and Save You Money!
This year, resolve to save water! This small commitment benefits both you – by saving you money – and the earth. And it doesn’t require big changes to make a difference. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Need more ideas? Visit our water conservation pages.
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 Water Wisdom: If you didn't overseed with winter ryegrass (bravo), your dormant Bermudagrass only needs water once every 30 days this time of year. A good winter rain like we had on December 22 will cover that requirement.
**Reduce your landscape water use 30 to 50 percent by adjusting your irrigation each season.** Landscape Watering by the Numbers: A Guide for the Arizona Desert will help you determine how much water to apply and how long to run your system. Visit the interactive website or request a free copy of the booklet.
-H2O-
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