Zone Watering Advice

post by EdoAlexander on Jun 24, 2025

Hi! We just installed a Rachio 3 (4 zones) today (upgrading from a 15 year old Rain Bird) and we were hoping we could get some recommendations with regards to the irrigation schedule. First some specs:

• Location: Southern California / Zone 10
• Soil Type: Clay/Clay Loam soil
• House Orientation: NE facing house

Zones:

Zone 1 (left side of house):

• Type: Spray Emitters
• Sun: maybe 30 minutes of sun a day, if that.
• Plants: Lots of ferns, Elephant Ears, a few Calillies and Azaleas.

Zone 2 (front of house):

• Type: Fixed Half Circle pattern Sprinkler Nozzles
• Sun: gets about 4-5 hours of full filtered sun (we have a wall and some trees)
• Plants: mostly Rose bushes and a few Hydrangeas.

Zone 3 (Back Wall of house/Right side of house):

• Type: Fixed Half Circle pattern Sprinkler Nozzles (for the back wall)
• Sun: 2-3 hours per day of sun
• Plants: three large established trees, some decorative grasses like Phoreum, platinum lomandra, Mondo grasses and a few Hydrangeas, all along the back wall.
• On the Right side of the wall: Bubbler Nozzles, 4-6 hours of direct sun, there are three Pittosporum Silver Sheens and a Large Elephant Ear.

Zone 4 (Backyard):

• Type: Drip Irrigation, 1 gph emitters
• Sun: 4-6 hours of sun
• Plants: newly planted, 1 gallon size, drought tolerant California Native shrubs.

We've already set up the zones in the app inputting some of the details above, however, at this stage, we’re not entirely sure what the best schedules or set up is for each zone, so any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you!