ASHS 2024 Conference

The Climate Ready Landscape Plants project evaluates the performance of plants exposed to three different deficit irrigation treatments in six climate zones. The experimental fields are completely replicated at all of the sites with plants spaced in a 2m x 2m layout, 8 replicates per treatment, up to 15 taxa tested per site, and irrigation based on reference evapotranspiration (ETo) with treatments of 20%, 50%, and 80% of ETo. Irrigation applications consist of a fixed volume of water depending on soil plant available water as determined by the US Geological Survey maps accessed via SoilWeb. The interval between irrigations was determined by accumulating daily ETo modified by the treatment factor. Irrigation occurred when the trigger value was attained. Plants were installed in the fall and irrigated with sufficient water for establishment during the first irrigation season and treatments were imposed during the second irrigation season. Monthly during treatment, 6 qualitative assessments of each plant were conducted and measurements in three directions were recorded to calculate a Plant Growth Index until the end of the treatment period that typically concluded in October. A substantial effort was made to ensure site-to-site consistency of the qualitative assessments by developing a ratings rubric and conducting frequent site visits with project management to “calibrate” site staff conducting the evaluations. Open House Field Days were conducted during the treatment season to which horticultural professionals and Master Gardeners were invited to evaluate the plants. This provided additional data and introduced the plants to potential users. This project started in 2004 as a graduate student research project, was expanded periodically at UC Davis, and then duplicated in 2017 at the UC South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine, CA as the University of California Landscape Plants Irrigation Trials™ (UCLPIT) project. With an award from the USDA Specialty Crops Multistate Program in 2019, the project was expanded to the University of Washington, Oregon State University, Utah State University, and the University of Arizona which facilitates the comparison of plant performance in response to deficit irrigation treatments across the western region of the U.S. The data collected leads to recommendations for irrigating those plants that are used by homeowners and landscape irrigation managers and assists landscape designers and architects designing landscapes that are water conserving and complying with California's landscape water conservation regulation, the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO).