The Water Authority encourages efficient outdoor water use for beautiful landscapes. With some 40 percent of our drinking water going to landscaping, improving outdoor water use efficiency is now the main focus of the Water Authority’s conservation efforts. But irrigation efficiency doesn't mean you can't have a beautiful, desert friendly yard. Below is your three-step plan for a beautiful, desert friendly yard.
1. Service your irrigation system by checking for leaks and malfunctions.
Low-maintenance landscapes are great, but there’s no such thing as a “no-maintenance” irrigation system. A single broken sprinkler head flowing at 15 gallons per minute will waste 900 gallons in one hour of use. Service your system regularly, and check it often for leaks and malfunctions.
2. Set your turf irrigation timer to water by the numbers.
Adjust your irrigation timer according to the season. For turf, water by the numbers: One day per week in March, two days per week in April and May, three days per week in the summer, and ramp down in the Fall. For other landscapes, follow the Seasonal watering recommendations. Call today for a free irrigation consultation.
3. Select desert friendly plants that thrive in our dry climate.
There are literally hundreds of plant options to choose
from that will thrive in our desert climate. And there are rebates available for
replacing turf with a desert friendly landscape.
If you follow this three-step plan, you’re sure to have
landscape success.
One of the
great advantages of desert-adapted plants is the wealth of colorful flowers
they produce, a boon to gardeners and pollinators alike. Plants that bloom in
autumn offer pollen and nectar for insects and, if the seed heads are left to
ripen, a late season food source for birds.
After a long hot summer, some plants think the cool of fall means it’s spring again and burst into bloom with renewed vibrance. Salvia greggii is commonly called autumn sage because, even though it flowers brilliantly in spring and lightly all summer, fall brings on another strong show. Responding to the cooler, longer nights in autumn, Salvia’s late season color becomes even more intense. Autumn sage is a compact shrub that grows 2-feet tall and 3-feet wide, with small dark green leaves and spikes of flowers in red, rose pink, coral, purple or white. Hummingbirds and bees are frequent visitors. Autumn sage prefers well-drained soil and deep watering (24 to 30 inches) every week or two while blooming, monthly or less in winter.
Autumn sage, Salvia greggii
Many ornamental grasses are their showiest in autumn, too. There are several varieties of little bluestem Schizachryium scoparium with 12-inch wide clumps of narrow blue-green leaves and 24-inch tall slender stems bearing fuzzy seed heads. ‘Blaze’ little bluestem turns scarlet in fall and ‘The Blues’ turns a beautiful pink. Both keep their color into winter when they fade to a rich bronzy brown. The color is our reward for supplying the little extra water these grasses need.
Native grasses are also important larval food for butterflies and produce nutritious seeds for songbirds, bringing color on wings to the garden. Since the seed heads are a large part of the reason they are planted, ornamental grasses should be left uncut until early spring. Then, trim them a few inches from the ground so the new growth is not stymied by having to push through old stubble to reach sunlight.
Little bluestem Schizachryium scoparium
Perhaps the most spectacular late blooming perennial is the Maximilian sunflower Helianthus maximiliani. By early autumn, its flower stems are 5 to 7-feet tall. Established plants can spread 4 or more feet wide, shooting up dozens of flower stems. The top few feet of the stems are covered in 2-inch wide yellow sunflowers with yellow centers abuzz with bees. The show can last for several weeks in September or October, but after the flowers fade the plants become a bird buffet of seeds well into winter. Maximilian sunflowers grow best in soils that hold water well and produce the best show when watered to a depth of 2 feet weekly during the growing season, every two weeks in spring and fall and monthly or less in winter.
Maximilian sunflower, Helianthus maximiliani
Flowers aren’t the only source of fall color, either, but red leaves in fall are not the norm in New Mexico. Cottonwoods in the Bosque and aspens in the mountains are our autumn gold. Chinese pistache Pistacia chinensis has become one of the most dependable heat and drought tolerant shade trees and adds splashes of red fall foliage in the ABQ metro area. A great shade tree that is 20 to 30-feet tall at maturity with a canopy spread of 20-feet, Chinese pistache benefits from structural pruning while it is young to assure strong branching. Once well rooted, it should be watered at the edge of the branch canopy to a depth of 2 to 3 feet every few weeks during the growing season and monthly or less depending on winter moisture.
Chinese pistache, Pistacia chinensis
Author: Judith Phillips, owner of Design Oasis, landscape designer and garden writer with 30 years experience designing arid-adapted and native gardens in the high desert.
Among the most iconic and showy of autumn
wildflowers, Goldenrod is native to many parts of North America, from deserts
to mountains to prairies. The flowers hang gracefully from stems. Although Goldenrod
is frequently mistaken as an allergen, its heavy pollen is in fact carried by
birds and insects, not the wind. (Wind born pollen from plants like grasses are
much more likely to annoy our sinuses). Long-lived with deep roots, Goldenrod
provides vital sources of pollen and nectar for bees and other beneficial
insects.
Cultivars for small garden settings
include ‘Golden Baby’ – a clump-forming hybrid. This cultivar is best planted
in groups to get extended color, since individual plants bloom for a short
time. A good rain garden plant with bright green leaves that contrast nicely
with silver and soft green desert plants. Water every two weeks in summer to
keep it happy.
Since this is a late bloomer, situate it
near plants with contrasting fall foliage, such as Western Sand Cherry.
Removing spent flowers will encourage a longer bloom. Surprisingly good as a
cut flower – try it in a fall bouquet!
Grass lawns in the greater Albuquerque area require supplemental irrigation in order to survive our high desert climate. Most residential landscapes are watered by pop up spray heads with conventional nozzles, as pictured below.
Pop up spray head
But did you know that water waste from these conventional spray nozzles can be reduced by simply swapping the nozzle out for high efficiency rotary nozzles? And for just a few dollars per head. Rotary nozzles improve irrigation efficiency by delivering water more slowly. That prevents runoff by giving soil time to absorb the water and allows the water to reach the root zone of the plant. These nozzles also deliver water in a larger droplet size, making the spray less susceptible to being carried off by the wind. This is all accomplished via their distinctive multiple rotating streams of water, pictured below.
High efficiency rotary nozzle
505Outside visited local irrigation supply stores to find out their most
frequently asked questions about these nozzles.
Can I replace my existing spray nozzles with these high efficiency rotary nozzles?
Yes. In most cases it’s as simple as unscrewing the existing nozzle and
dropping in the rotary nozzle and filter basket. These are available at any
local irrigation supply store. If you bring in your existing spray head, the
staff can recommend the best solution for you. Water Authority has rebates
available for the purchase of rotary nozzles, too. Visit the link here.
Sounds too good to be true. Are there any negatives?
They tend to clog with the hard water typically found in Albuquerque.
Make sure the brand you select comes with an inline filter basket, so you can
easily flush out and unclog your spray head.
What else should I know about high efficiency rotary nozzles?
They require longer run times. This is where most homeowners get confused. Wouldn’t
a longer run time mean I’m using more water? The answer is no, because rotary
nozzles deliver water at a slower rate than typical spray nozzles. Therein lies
the efficiency: water saturates deep into the root zone rather than running off
and evaporating. This can also help reduce the frequency of runs, thereby
saving water.
They work best at 30-40 psi. If the pressure running through your irrigation
system is too high, the rotary nozzle will spin out of control and break. The
average pounds per inch (psi) in Albuquerque ranges between 40 and 70 psi, so
you may need a pressure regulator on your system to avoid damage. Check with
your local supplier to figure out if you need to regulate the pressure on your
system, and how.
They are adjustable. Most rotary nozzle brands provide matched precipitation rates across radius, arcs, and pattern types, making it easy to install a system with even distribution. Nozzles can be easily adjusted by tool or by hand while the heads are running, to avoid water waste through overspray.
Stop by your local irrigation supplier and learn all about these high efficiency rotary nozzles.
High efficiency rotary nozzle watering a 135 degree angle.
August is hot. And customers
are encouraged to follow the summer watering recommendations below. But
remember that if it rains, count that day as one of your watering days and cut
back on supplemental irrigation.
Remember to service your irrigation
system at least once per month, checking for leaks and malfunctions. A single
broken sprinkler head flowing at 15 gallons per minute will waste 900 gallons
in just one hour of use.
Follow the Summer Watering Recommendations below for your landscape.
