Xeriscaping cost

Xeriscaping costs $5 to $20 a square foot to convert a lawn into a drought-tolerant landscape with drip irrigation, typically around $12. Replacing a 1,000 square foot front lawn is therefore $5,000 to $20,000, and about $12,000 at the typical rate, before any rebate from the water district.

The ratio of plants to gravel decides the price, and it also decides whether the result looks like a garden or a parking lot. The cheapest conversions are mostly rock. The ones that save water, stay cool and qualify for rebates are mostly plants.

What it costs

Where the money goes

Turf removal is the first line and the least optional. Stripping and hauling costs $0.30 to $1.00 a square foot. Sheet mulching, which smothers the grass under cardboard and mulch, is slower and avoids the hauling. Warm-season grasses such as Bermuda survive both and need repeated treatment or careful digging, and a conversion that skips this becomes a gravel lawn full of grass within a year.

Irrigation is converted, not removed. Drought-tolerant plants still need regular water for their first one or two summers. Existing spray zones are capped or converted to drip at $300 to $900 a zone, and a smart controller cuts the watering back once the plants are established. See irrigation repair if the existing system needs work first.

Plants at the typical rate are one-gallon and five-gallon natives and adapted species, spaced to cover most of the ground at maturity. Larger container plants push toward the top of the range.

Hardscape: paths, boulders, decomposed granite seating areas and dry creek beds. These are what give a xeriscape structure when the plants are small, and they are also what drives the price above $15 a square foot.

Rebates, and the rules that come with them

Many water districts and cities in the West, particularly in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and parts of Texas, pay a rebate per square foot of lawn removed. Programs change often, have annual budgets that run out, and vary widely in amount, so check your own utility's current terms.

The conditions are typically similar:

• Pre-approval before removing anything. Most programs photograph the lawn first. Rip it out before approval and you usually forfeit the rebate
• Minimum plant coverage, commonly a stated percentage of the area covered by plants at maturity, which rules out an all-gravel yard
• No artificial turf, in most programs, because it does not absorb water and gets very hot
• Drip or no irrigation on the converted area, and no overhead spray
• A permeable surface: no concrete, and landscape fabric only if water passes through it

Get the rules before the design, not after. A contractor who works in rebate areas will know them and should design to them.

Water savings, and whether it suits your region

A cool-season lawn in a hot, arid climate can need 30 to 60 gallons of water per square foot a year. An established xeriscape needs a fraction of that, and some plantings need almost nothing after the second summer. Converting 1,000 square feet can save tens of thousands of gallons a year, which on tiered Western water rates can be several hundred dollars.

In the arid and semi-arid West, xeriscaping is simply the sensible landscape. Payback from water savings and rebates can be a few years.

In the humid East and Midwest, with 35 to 50 inches of rain a year, the water savings are small because the lawn was mostly rain-fed. The case there is lower mowing, fertilizer and maintenance costs, and gravel-heavy designs perform badly: weeds seed into the stone and it looks untidy fast. Use native meadow and prairie plantings and wood mulch instead.

In cold-winter regions, choose plants rated for the winter as well as the drought. Many Southwestern plants rot in wet, cold soil.

If what you want is a green, walkable surface with no water, that is a different project. Artificial turf is covered separately, and a lawn replacement overview compares the options.

What goes wrong

Too much rock, too few plants. Gravel in full sun radiates heat on to the house and the plants, and without shade it stays hot into the evening. Aim for plants covering at least half the area within three years.

No water in year one. "Drought tolerant" means once established. New plants without drip in their first summer die in large numbers.

Fabric under gravel on a planted area. It stops plants spreading and self-seeding, and dust settling on top grows weeds anyway. Use it under paths, not around plants.

Planting for the pot size. Desert shrubs look sparse at planting and grow wide. Spacing them close for instant fullness means removing half of them in five years.

Frequently asked questions

Is xeriscaping cheaper to maintain than a lawn?

Yes, once established. There is no weekly mowing, little or no fertilizer, and water use falls sharply. Expect occasional weeding, cutting back perennials once a year and checking the drip lines. The first two years need more attention than a lawn, not less.

Can I keep a small lawn and xeriscape the rest?

Yes, and it is often the best balance. A small patch of lawn where children or dogs actually use it, with the front yard and strips converted, captures most of the water savings. Many rebate programs accept partial conversions.

Do I have to remove the sprinkler system to xeriscape?

No. The valves, controller and mainline are reused. Spray heads on converted areas are capped or replaced with drip adapters, which is cheaper than new drip zones from scratch.

What is the difference between xeriscaping and zeroscaping?

Xeriscaping is planted, with drought-adapted plants, mulch and efficient irrigation. Zeroscaping, meaning gravel with a few plants, is cheaper and hotter, rarely qualifies for rebates and usually disappoints. The word comes from the Greek for dry, not from zero.

When is the best time of year to convert a lawn to xeriscape?

Fall in most of the West, so plants root through the cooler months before summer. Start rebate applications in late summer, since pre-approval can take several weeks.