Water Use and Crop Coefficients of Woody Ornamentals in Containers

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Twelve species of woody ornamental plants were grown for 2 years in containers at Riverside and Davis, Calif., to determine plant water use (WU) and compare crop coefficients (Kcs). WU was determined gravimetrically in 1993 and 1994, five times each year in Riverside and four times each year in Davis. WU and Kc were affected by significant interactions among species, location, and time of year. WU was primarily influenced by the month, while Kc was most affected by location. Rhaphiolepis and Pittosporum, followed by Juniperus and Photinia, respectively, were the highest water users in Riverside when averaged over the 2 years. Arctostaphylos was the highest water user in Davis, followed by Juniperus, Cercis, and Pittosporum, respectively. Rhamnus, Prunus, and Cercocarpus were among the lowest water users in both locations. Heteromeles, Buxus, and Ceanothus were intermediate water users. The largest difference in species WU between the two locations was found for Arctostaphylos and Cercis, both high water users in Davis, but moderate or low water users in Riverside. The other species ranked similarly in both locations. Kcs of the 12 species, when averaged over the 2-year sampling period, ranked similar to water use. Kcs tended to be artificially high in the winter months and were not correlated to the low WU during that time.