Palm Tree Water Considerations

The Mediterranean fan palm (Chamaerops humilis) is a palm
that has adapted to conditions similar to California,
wet winters and dry summers.

Is this palm suitable for your location?

The California Nursery Historical Park and much of Fremont is in the climate zones:

• Sunset zone 15
• USDA zone 10a

You can look yours up as well.







Considering water use of new plants is more important than ever.

Water-Use Classification of Landscape Species

WUCOLS, Water-Use Classification of Landscape Species, is a project that evaluates plants for water needs in various regions of California. This allows us to choose the right plants for the right climate and to group plants with similar water needs.

All of these resources allow you input your city and will give you information specific for your area.

WUCOLS - Water-Use Classification of Landscape Species. You can search their database.  Read the user manual first

WUCOLS Landscape Water-Use Landscape Planning Tool uses the WUCOLS database. You can use it to generate a plant list according to water usage or other characteristics. However, does not distinguish between water during dry and wet season like Bob Perry's book.

Other good resources

Bob Perry's Landscape Plants for California Gardens is used widely and rates each plant according to water requirements and whether it requires summer water or not. You can download a couple of chapters for free. (Price varies from $70 to $300, so you might need to wait until the price comes down again.)

Bob Perry rates plants according to Plant Factors and Irrigation Group for all of the California climate zones.


Plant Factors
How much water is needed to supplement rainfall?
PF = Plant Factors (L (Low), M (Medium), H(High). If a single value is shown, the plant needs this year round. If two values, such as M/L is shown, then the plant grows best with regular water during the winter and reduced water in the summer.

Irrigation Group
Does the plant need additional irrigation during dry season?
IG = Irrigation Group (1=Regular water schedule, 2=Reduced summer water schedule)