Xeriscaping: a guide for pros
What customers ask, how to win the job, and what to put on your profile.
Offering xeriscaping
Xeriscaping is a design-led job where plant grouping, soil work and irrigation decide whether the landscape thrives on little water. Your value is in matching plants to the site, building the water plan around them and keeping the customer's expectations realistic through establishment.
What customers ask
- Will the yard look dead in the summer?
- How much water will it need, and for how long?
- Which plants will survive our winters and summers?
- Do I need an irrigation system, or can I water by hand?
- How long before the plants fill in?
- What do you do if a plant dies?
How to win the job
- On the first call, ask about the water source, the sun and wind exposure, the soil and what the customer wants the yard to look like in summer.
- Walk the site after a rain and note where water runs, pools or dries out, then use that to plan zones and grading.
- Put the zone plan, the plant list with sizes, the irrigation method, the soil prep, the mulch or gravel depth and the warranty in the written quote.
- Show a before and after photo set from a past xeriscape at the same time of year, so the customer sees the mature look.
- Leave a first-year watering schedule with the customer, and tell them when you will check the zones.
- Explain the difference between establishment water and the water the plants need once they are settled, so the customer is not surprised later.
What to put on your profile
- Photos of xeriscapes at planting and at maturity, shot from the same spots
- Zone plans from past projects, with the plant groups labeled
- The drought-tolerant plants you use most, grouped by sun and soil type
- Your irrigation method and the controllers you install
Follow-up that helps the customer
- Send a first-year watering schedule and a check-in reminder for the plant establishment period
- Offer a plant health check after the first summer, to adjust water and replace any losses
- Suggest a drip or controller upgrade if the first season shows zones that are over or under watered
Licenses and permits
Plant and mulch work is commonly not licensed, but irrigation, grading and hardscape within a xeriscape are commonly licensed contractor work in many areas. Check with your state or local licensing agency and your local water utility before you take those parts of the job.
Questions
Do I need a license to design xeriscapes?
Design and plant selection are commonly not licensed. Irrigation, grading and hardscape work can be licensed in many areas. Check with your state or local licensing agency before you take those parts of a project.
How do I set expectations about summer color?
Show the customer the plant list and the bloom times, and explain which plants flower in summer and which do not. Use photos of mature xeriscapes in the same climate so the look is clear before planting.
How do I keep a xeriscape from getting weedy?
Use a mulch or gravel layer deep enough to block weed seed, and pull weeds early while they are small. Explain to the customer that the first season needs the most weeding.
About this guide
This national guide is written and checked by infinibell. Rules and conditions differ by place, so local pros are credited on guides for the cities they serve, not on national ones.
Edit history
- Oct 29, 2026: Drafted by infinibell to our content guidelines.
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