Mayo Clinic in Arizona’s Surprising Secret to Lusher Desert Landscapes
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The secret to healthier plants at Mayo Clinic in Arizona turned out to be surprisingly simple: use an individualized approach and less water.
By tailoring irrigation to the specific needs of each plant species, the landscape thrived and water use for the Phoenix campus's landscape dropped by more than 60%.
The journey to big water savings started when Cheryl Lisiewski, director of Facilities Project Management, noticed something unusual with the plants at Mayo Clinic in Arizona’s Phoenix campus. The less-than-lush landscape was struggling. Seasonal monsoon rains sometimes toppled full-grown trees, and the irrigation puddled water around tree trunks.
Water use has dropped to under 8 million gallons in 2025, reducing water usage more than 60%.
In 2021, Mayo Clinic partnered with irrigation experts to study the Phoenix and Scottsdale campuses’ plant life and water delivery systems. Through this detailed analysis, Cheryl and her team learned how to better nurture their landscapes while conserving one of Arizona’s most precious resources. The study revealed simple but powerful improvements: adjusting irrigation systems and tailoring watering to the needs of individual trees.
The result: healthier plants and significant water savings. Prior to this landscape improvement, the Phoenix campus used around 20 million gallons of irrigation water across its more than 200 acres — an area the size of more than 100 soccer fields. Water use has dropped to under 8 million gallons in 2025, reducing water usage more than 60%, says David Rivas, director of Facilities Engineering and Operations at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.
Some of the savings came from routine maintenance such as repairing leaks in the system. But much more came from the revelation that the trees and other vegetation would be healthier with less water.
Overwatering Palo Verde trees, for example, caused the roots to grow close to the surface, rather than reaching down into the earth in search of water. Without a deep root structure, the trees easily fell over. Overwatering also left the plants more susceptible to pests and disease. “They weren’t as hardy because they didn’t learn how to survive on their own,” says Cheryl.
Today, the landscape is far lusher and healthier. Patients entering the campus are greeted with vibrant colors and floral scents.
“That’s our way of contributing to the patient experience,” Cheryl says. “We get a lot of comments from patients and visitors about how beautiful the campus looks. We take pride in that.”
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