University of Agricultural Sciences, DHARWAD

Xeriscape- An Approach of Land Scaping

the Dry Areas

Dr.V.S.PATILProfessor & Head

Dept.of hortiiculture
vishpatil1962@gmail.com

College of Agriculture, Hanumanamatti

• Create practical turf
• Use mulches
• Appropriate
maintenance
 Importance of landscape

 Aesthetic views are pleasing

 Plants in the landscape convey warmth, comfort and protection.
 Landscape designed with function in mind also lend themselves well to
many activities.
 Landscape plants are good for environment
 It play a major role in cooling the air and reduce the noise pollution.
 The time and money put into establishing a nice landscape pay dividends
when selling a house.

Water plays a very important role in maintaining good

landscape.
30-40 m2 - 200 Litres Per Day
300 m 2 - 1000 lt per day
6000 m2-20,000 Litres Per Day
14,000 m2 - 50,000 Litres Per Day
 Amount of water required and water shortage in main cities of India

City Need (MLD) Short fall(MLD) Short fall %

Mumbai 4000 1030 25
Delhi 3830 880 30
Kolkata 2258 690 30
Chennai 3000 1050 35
Bangalore 840 135 16
Hyderabad 956 186 19
Indore 318 134 42
Bhopal 335 70 21
Lucknow 560 120 21
Jaipur 349 313 89
Jabalpur 239 94.5 40
Vaizag 305 146 48

MLD- Million Liters Per Day By water supply authority of India- 2004- 05
Wars are being fought
Over clean water
GLOBAL WATER SITUATION

 Over 1/6th have no access to adequate

water supply

 2.5 billion have no access to adequate

sanitation

 30,000 deaths caused daily by

contaminated water and poor
sanitation

By 2025, an estimated 1/3rd of the world’s population

will suffer from chronic water shortage!
World bank report, 2006
 RURAL INDIA IS SCREAMING FOR WATER!
PARCHED LANDS; PARCHED THROATS

 Usman Sagar, one of Hyderabad’s main

drinking water sources is dried up…

 Only 34 of the 116 municipalities in

Andhra Pradesh get regular water – for
1 hour, twice a week

How will people survive?

Picture & Information from India Today, June 9, 2003

 RURAL INDIA IS SCREAMING FOR WATER!
‘Water now precedes roti, kapda, aur makan’

2/3rds of the country has

been declared drought prone

 90,000 villages declared ‘no

source water’- no source
within 7 km radius

Ministry of Rural Development, 2004

Staying without the
gardens ?
No Absolutely Not……………..
 Xeriscape- What is it?

• Coined by Nancy Leavit,

Colarado in 1980.

• Xeriscape, is a Greek word

• Xeros=dry

• Quality landscaping that

conserves water and protects
the environment.
• Xeriscape not Zeroscape

• Is landscaping designed specifically for areas that are

susceptible to drought, or for properties where water conservation
is practiced.

• Place based landscaping that meets the needs of today’s

world, without diminishing the ability of future generations to
meet their needs.
Misconception
Benefits of Xeriscaping
 Fig 1: Cost requirements for traditional and xeriscaping.

Sovocool and Rosales, 2001, Mojave Desert, US

$11.60
Dollar/ 100 Sq.ft./ month

$1.80
Seven fundamentals are…..
Plan & Design
Types of hydrazones
Water Zones
Clint, Extension Specialist, Georgia
 Consider-
Budget,
Appearance,
Function,
Maintenance,
Water needs
 Developing a master plan
 Fit plant to the design
Final blue print of design
 2. Improve soil

Do not add organic matter to the

planting hole for trees and shrubs

Improve the structure of poor soil.

The general rule of thumb is to amend your native soil with 1/3 organic matter
Use hydrogels - water
absorbing polymers
1 pound of crystals to 100
sq ft of bed area will adsorb
20-25 gallons of water
 They last from 6 month to
several years in soil

HYDROGELS
 3. Appropriate plant selection

“Plants don’t save water , people do”

 Criteria to consider

• Well suited to the planting area and

local environment
• Drought tolerance
• Mature size and form
• Growth rate
• Texture
• Colour
• Functional use
 4. Create Practical Turf Areas

An area of well- maintained turfgrass is like a welcome mat to

home
It is one of the most versatile and functional plants in
landscape

• It is most effective plant covers to reduce runoff and

erosion while recharging the ground water

* 300F cooler than a concrete and 10-14oF cooler than the

bare soil
* Cooling effect of average lawn is equal to more than 8
tons of air conditioning.

• It absorbs dust and other air pollutants and produce oxygen

 Average water use and drought resistance of selected turfgrass

Common name Water use Drought resistance

Tifway Bermuda Very low Very high

Common Bermuda Very low High

Raleeigh St. Agustine Very low Very high

Rebel 11 tall fescue Very low Medium

Centipedi grass Low Medium- high

Meyer Zoysia Low Low

K 31 Tall Fescue Low Low- medium

5. Irrigate Efficiently

It is the heart of a successful xeriscape

 Irrigate Efficiently

• Determine how much water is needed and how often each

watering zone needs watering.

• How long to water.

• How fast to water

• Establish irrigation objectives

• Sprinkler irrigation

• Operate sprinkler between 9 pm and 9 am

• Hand watering

• Never water grass daily except during establishment

Table4: Annual per- area application of water to traditional and xeriscape type
Kent et al.,2005, Southern Nevada

Per unit area application Per unit area

(gallons/ Sq.ft./year) application (inches/
year)

traditional 73.00 117.2

xeriscape 17.2 27.6

Difference 55.8 89.6

t- test 27.0*
 Irrigation turfgrass
• Moderate water zone- irrigate only when it shows sign of moisture
stress.

• Low water zone- 1- 2 inches / week and divide this amount into 2
application / week

• Never apply more than 1 inch at a time

Daily irrigated Twice a week

• Daily irrigation with small amounts encourages a

Shallow root system and reduces drought tolerance
6. Mulch
Use Mulches
 Conserves soil moisture
 Reduces weeds
 Prevents soil compaction
 Moderates soil temperatures
 Prevent crusting of the soil surface and allows water to
penetrate

Types of mulches
Organic
– Straw, pine needles, bark nuggets, wood
chips, sawdust and other wood products
Inorganic
– Lava rock, rock, plastic, landscape fabric
 Fig 4: Moisture level of mulched vs. bare soil
Daniel et al., 1999, Ohio, USA

Sep 16 Nov 24
7. Maintain Landscape Properly
 Discourage water – demanding new growth on plants
 Avoid shearing plants
 Fertilize less and use slow release fertilizers

Shearing

Pruning
 Proper mowing
 Periodic checks of irrigation system

Mowing heights for turfgrass

Turfgrass Mowing Height( inches)

Centipede 1 – 1.5

Common Bermuda 1- 2

Hybrid Bermuda 0.5 – 1.5

Tall Fescue 2–3

St. Agustine 2–3

Zoysia 0.5 – 1.5

Fig 6: Monthly water bill for a typical Las Vegas area home for
traditional and xeriscape type of garden
Kent et al.,2005 Southern Nevada

Traditional type $59

$22

Xeriscape
•Don’t let weeds compete with plants for
water and nutrients

• Scout for pest before you spray

•Make every drop count

•Lets your plants tell you when they need

water

• During drought – Give survival watering

Suppose you replace your traditional yard with highly drought tolerant plants.

YOU SAVE:
• 108,000 gallons of water each year
• 5.4 million gallons over a lifetime
• About $160 in water bills per year
• $19,000+ over a lifetime

Maggiie , 2004, USU Extension Horticulture

 Turf grasses
Common name Scientific name Best adapted for Notes

Bermuda grass Cynodon dactylon 7 Good drought tolerance; produces dense

turf; poor shade tolerance; plant seed or sod

Buffalo grass Buchloe dactyloides Excellent drought tolerance; produces thin

turf; poor shade tolerance; plant seed or sod
Carpet grass Axonopus affinis Adapted to moist sites; tolerates partial
shade; many seedheads; thin turf; plant seed
Centipede grass Eremochloa ophiuroides Low maintenance; tolerates partial shade;
tolerates drought; plant seed or sod
St. Augustine Stenotaphrum Produces dense turf; good shade tolerance;
grass secundatum poor drought tolerance; plant sod
Tall fescue Festuca arundinacea Under irrigation, remains green year-round;
good shade tolerance; poor drought
tolerance; plant seed
Zoysia grass Zoysia spp. Produces dense turf; good shade tolerance;
good drought tolerance; plant sod
 Ground covers

Common name Scientific name Exposure

Ajuga Ajuga reptans Shade

Asiatic jasmine asiaticum Trachelospermum Sun/shade
Confederate jasmine Trachelospermum jasminoides Sun/shade
English ivy Hedera Helix Shade
Liriope Liriope muscari Sun/shade
Monkey grass Ophiopogon japonicus Sun/shade
Prostrate rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis Sun
Light blue flowers Santolina Santolina sp. Sun
Trailing juniper Juniperus sp. Sun
 Perennials

Common name Scientific name Exposure

Autumn sage Salvia greggii Sun
Baby sun/sunray coreopsis Coreopsis grandiflora Sun
Bearded iris Iris xiphioides Sun/shade
Blue plumbago Plumbago auriculata Sun/shade
Bouncing bet Sapinara officinalis Sun/shade
Cigar plant Cuphea micropetala Sun/shade
Daylily Hemerocallis sp Sun
Garden canna Canna x generalis Sun/shade
Indian blanket. Gaillardia sp Sun
Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis Sun/shade
Society garlic Tulbaghia violacea Sun/shade
 Shrubs

Common name Scientific name Exposure

Red yucca Hesperaloe parvifolia Sun
Barberry Berberis thunbergii Sun
China rose Rosa chinensis Sun
Indian hawthorne Raphiolepis indica Sun/shade
Juniper Juniperus sp. Sun
Tea rose Rosa adorata Sun
Pomegranate Punica granatum Sun
Lilac Syringa vulgaris Sun
Oleander Nerium oleander Sun
Russian olive Eleagnus angustifolia Sun/shade
Trees

Common name Scientific name

American plum Prunus americana
Panicled golden Koelreuteria
raintree paniculata
Soapberry Sapindus drummondii
Wild olive Corida boissieri
Live oak Quercus virginiana
Hackberry Celtis occidentalis
Redbud Cercis sp.
Nandina Nandina domestica
Slash pine Pinus elliottii
Winter Lonicera
honeysuckle fragrantissima
Landscape Makeovers
Conclusion

“Xeriscape is one of the important

landscape practice mostly suitable for dry
region of India but in our country most of
the people shifted towards traditional
landscape that is, high water using gardens
so that, we are wasting lot of water in
maintaining the gardens, hence there is a
lot of scope in adopting the xeriscape
technique “
Reference

•www.snwa.com/html/cons-wsl-xeriscape.html

•Journal AWWA( American Water Works Association)

www.awwa.org/publications/JournalCurrent.cfm
•http://www.waterwiseplants.utah.gov/landscapes/Broglia.asp
•http://texaswater.tamu.edu
•http://extension.oregonstate.edu/deschutes/index.php
•http://www.irrigation.org
•http://www.water.denver.co.gov/xeriscapeinfo/xeriscapeframe.html
•"Xeriscape isn't just a desert concept anymore."
U.S. Water News September 1989: 19.