We've had two nice winter storms pass through. The first on January 23 and the second was yesterday - where it appears most areas received .4 to .5 inches. See more below.
Looking at the extended forecast, it shows that our temperatures will stay cool, and we might get lucky with more rain, too. While below freezing temps can occur into early April, our typical last frost date is mid-February.
Don't forget that some trees and shrubs have already dropped their leaves due to the winter season. Others will drop leaves within the next couple of months but will leaf back out quickly.
Recommendations below are for plants that are established in the landscape (in the ground about two years).
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- Desert Adapted - once every 28 days
- High Water Use - once every 12 days
- Desert Adapted - once every 36 days
- High Water Use - once every 14 days
- Desert Adapted - once every 21 days
- High Water Use - once every 10 days
Cacti and succulent watering
Annuals & vegetable watering
- Once every 6-9 days (or more if you are starting seeds)
Wildflower watering
- Once every 10-12 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.
** Shade Tree Programs Now Available to ALL Mesa Residents: Get Free Trees from City of Mesa Electric or SRP! **
Mesa Electric Shade Tree Program
Are you a City of Mesa Electric customer located around the the downtown area? We are excited to offer a Mesa Shade Tree Program as part of our Trees Are Cool Initiative. Attend the upcoming workshop and you can receive a free desert-adapted shade tree for your landscape. Why? Because shading your home helps reduce cooling costs, improves air quality, and will help lower the heat island effect – all without using a lot of water.
Sat., March 16, from 10 a.m. to Noon is when the spring program will take place at the Charles K. Luster Building, 640 N. Mesa Drive.
Note that the class will include a professional Spanish translator and headsets for a bilingual experience.
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SRP's Shade Tree Program
If your power provider is SRP, then you take advantage of their spring 2024 Shade Tree Workshops offered on February 10 or February 24.
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 or the City of Mesa program, please be sure to visit this site to register them. View the map to see trees planted.
Thinking of Getting Rid of Your Grass? Our Incentives Have Increased!
 Apply to remove established grass and replace it with a water-thrifty Xeriscape landscape and you may qualify to receive up to $1,100 from the City of Mesa. Two levels of incentives are available: 500 - 999 square feet of grass conversion is eligible for $750, and more than 1,000 square feet is eligible for $1,000. Add an eligible tree or two as part of your Grass-to-Xeriscape project for up to $100 more. Completed projects are ineligible. A Xeriscape (zeer-a-scape) uses well-adapted plants, efficient irrigation, careful design and proper maintenance to produce landscapes that save water and energy. Xeriscape also provides wildlife habitat and creates shade.
2024 SRP Water Conservation Expo!
 Sat., March 2, 8 a.m. to Noon. The SRP Water Conservation Expo brings together members of the community to celebrate water in the Valley and to discover ways to conserve at home. This event is free and includes amazing discounts on smart irrigation controllers. Get a Rachio 3 or Hunter Controller for $60+tax (retail value is $199 and $285 respectively).
The expo also offers classes and an opportunity to visit an array of exhibitors. In fact, this year includes a water harvesting class and a mini plant sale by Desert Botanical Garden. The Mesa water conservation staff will be exhibiting to talk to you one-on-one about our programs, along with Water – Use It Wisely who will be hosting the AZ Plant Lady, Noelle Johnson at their booth. A popular blogger and recent book author, Noelle will offer landscape and design advice, and you can enter to win one of her new books, Dry Climate Gardening.
Location: PERA Club, 1 E Continental Dr., Tempe. Advance registration for a controller is highly recommended.
Plant of the Month: Brittlebush
Landscapes and the Sonoran Desert explode with color when Brittlebush comes alive with bright yellow flowers standing high above the silvery gray foliage. You are likely starting to see these now blooming along roadsides, but will be seeing them during your hikes in the next few months. Learn about Brittlebush.
Find all of our Plant of the Month Articles.
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Irrigation Maintenance Checklist Perfect for Spring Weather
Did your cute dog just chew off another emitter?
During our beautiful spring weather is an especially good time for irrigation system maintenance. Irrigation problems are not always apparent because of the cool nighttime temps, cloudy days, and the occasional sprinkle of rain. Don’t wait until the heat sets in. It won’t be fun for you or for your plants. Find our easy irrigation maintenance checklist. Oh, and bad dog!
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Thinking of a Landscape Renovation?
Here are four great resources:
Drab to Fab Backyard Rehab 10-Part Video Series Check out our ten 3- to 5-minute videos that take you through the process of a real landscape renovation.
AZ Plant Lady Low Water Use Landscapes are Beautiful Videos Mesa's water conservation staff partnered with Noelle Johnson (AKA, AZ Plant Lady) in a series of landscape videos to help you keep your landscape water smart. Eight videos cover topics such as fuss-free plants, plant selection and how to plant, and easy tips to save water in the landscape.
Residential Landscape Revitalization Workbook This booklet from Scottsdale features seven unique landscape design idea options for you – Birdscape, Colorscape, EZscape, Flutterscape, Nativescape, Shadescape, and Verdescape.
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Xeriscape: Landscaping with Style in the Arizona Desert This improved online guide provides information on design, installation, and maintenance, and a photo gallery of ideas for Arizona low desert gardens.
We've also got Tips for Selecting Professional Landscape Services.
Tree Watering Quick Guide Now Available
Have you been looking for the Cliff Notes version of our watering booklet? Check out our 'Quick Guide' version for watering your trees. You're welcome!
Tree Watering Quick Guide
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 Soak in all this water conservation
Perhaps you're so excited to see rain that you've forgotten to turn off your automatic irrigation timer.
If you haven’t already done so, use the 'off' 'stop' or 'rain' setting on your controller to stop the watering cycle without disturbing your programs. In fact, any time you receive one-half inch of rain or more, we recommend that you stop the watering cycle on your controller to help save water and money.
How much rainfall did you get?
As mentioned above, most areas got .4 to .5 inches of rain yesterday. If you don’t have a rain gauge, see what your neighborhood weather watchers are recording at www.rainlog.org. You can also find excellent information at the Maricopa County Flood Control rainfall data maps.
When do you turn your irrigation back on?
Keep an eye on your landscape to determine when you need to turn the controller back on. You can skip at least one, maybe two, irrigation cycles. For example, if you water your shrubs every 14 days, turn it back on after 14-20 days or more.
Got weeds?
The rains help to water our plants and germinate a few wildflowers, but also helped the weeds. Remove them when they are young and BEFORE they go to seed. They will eventually compete with your plants for water. When weeds are very small seedlings, you can even spray with a vinegar solution.
NEVER use strong weed killers or soil sterilants (labeled total vegetation killer, groundclear, etc.) as they persist and move in our desert soils and will negatively impact desirable plant roots.
**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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