Certification course
Certified Xeriscaping Provider Course
8 modules · 16 lessons · about 155 minutes of reading, then a final exam (80% to pass). The course is included with CXP enrollment.
Lessons are for enrolled pros
Browse the outline below. Full lessons, the exam, and your verifiable certificate come with CXP enrollment. Already enrolled? Sign in to pick up where you left off.
1. Xeriscape Foundations & the Seven Principles
- Explain what xeriscape actually means, its origin with Denver Water in 1981, and why it is not the same as 'zero-scape' or gravel-only design.
- Make the business case to a client using concrete water, cost, and maintenance savings from a properly designed xeriscape.
- Apply Denver Water's seven principles as a repeatable framework for scoping, bidding, and delivering a xeriscape installation.
2. Site Assessment: Climate, Zones & Regional Water Reality
- Read a site systematically for sun/shade, slope, drainage, soil, and microclimates before selecting plants or irrigation.
- Correctly interpret USDA hardiness zones — including what they tell you (winter cold) and what they do not (summer heat, rainfall, evapotranspiration).
- Translate climate reality, including the ~100th meridian divide and local ET, into a defensible plant and irrigation strategy for the region.
3. Soil, Grading & Water-Wise Bed Preparation
- Test and interpret soil texture, percolation/drainage, and pH to guide xeriscape decisions.
- Decide when to amend soil with organic matter and when native soil should be left lean for drought-adapted plants.
- Grade sites to shed water from structures while capturing rainfall with berms, swales, and basins, and prep beds for planting.
4. Plant Selection & Regional Palettes (Right Plant, Right Place)
- Apply the right-plant/right-place filters of hardiness zone, sun, soil/drainage, and mature size to every selection.
- Group plants into hydrozones by water need and organize them into an efficient irrigation and planting layout.
- Build a layered, bloom-succession regional palette from natives and proven low-water performers.
5. Efficient Irrigation Design (Drip, Zoning, Smart Controllers)
- Design hydrozoned systems that group plants by water need and put each zone on its own valve.
- Lay out drip and low-volume systems with correct pressure regulation, filtration, and emitter selection.
- Program deep, infrequent, ET-based schedules that establish plants and then wean them to low-water maintenance.
6. Turf Alternatives & Lawn Conversion
- Advise clients on where to keep functional lawn and where to convert to lower-water plantings.
- Select and execute the right turf-removal method and low-water turf alternative for each site.
- Convert lawn to planting bed with proper soil prep and set realistic establishment expectations.
7. Mulch, Hardscape & Long-Term Maintenance
- Specify the right mulch type, color, and depth for each zone and avoid the all-rock zeroscape mistake and its heat-island consequences.
- Integrate hardscape, permeable surfaces, and boulders that reduce irrigated area while managing runoff and reinforcing the design.
- Build a defensible low-water maintenance plan that scales from year-one establishment through mature-landscape care.
8. Working with Clients: Rebates, Codes, Cost & the CXP Code of Conduct
- Sell xeriscape value on water and money savings and quote realistic professional install costs of $5 to $20 per square foot.
- Locate, qualify, and correctly sequence turf-replacement rebates across CO, NV, CA, UT, AZ, and other western states.
- Navigate HOA and code constraints and native-landscaping protections while operating under the CXP Code of Conduct.