A desert-adapted plant list doesn't survive a one-size-fits-all sprinkler schedule. Put a drought-tolerant shrub on the same zone as a thirsty ornamental and one of them is getting the wrong amount of water — usually the drought-tolerant one drowns, because the schedule was set for its thirstier neighbor.
Zoning by water need — drip lines for beds and desert planting, separate zones for turf, separate again for anything newly planted that still needs to establish roots — is what lets a controller actually match water to demand instead of averaging it badly across everything.
A smart controller helps, but only once the zoning underneath it is right. Adjusting run times on a badly zoned system just moves the same mismatch around; it doesn't fix it.
Not sure if your system is zoned for what's actually planted? Call Desert Terrain Landscape at (760) 625-4566 — we'll take a look and quote what it needs.