Lawncare Tips

Watering your Established Lawn

Water is essential to the physiology of plant cells resulting in the greening of the turf. Water the grass when the amount of rain is not sufficient to meet the growing needs of the grass.

Grass needs an average 1 inch of water per week during the prime growing season. Typically, large turf areas require 35-40 minutes every other day, small turf areas require 15-20 minutes every other day. Water deeply and less frequently to allow water to penetrate to up to a depth of 6-8 inches. Light, frequent watering leads to shallow rooting. Shallow roots dry up rapidly during periods of drought. Watering during the day is not recommended because cold water affects the grass that is already hot from the sun's heat. Do not water late in the evening as the turf will remain wet all night. This will make it more vulnerable to disease infestation.

During periods of drought, it is not necessary to water a lawn to keep it green. In fact, a well aerated, deeply rooted, dense lawn, with a thin thatch layer that has been well fertilized (not excessively), can tolerate drought for a period of several weeks. In our climate, the lawn will greenup again following a good rain fall.

Mowing your Established Lawn

1. Mow the lawn frequently to a height of 3 to 4 inches during hot and dry periods. This will encourage deeper rooting which will be able to find more water. Also, a longer mowing height will result in less evaporation from the soil.
2. Do not pick up clippings if they are short and do not contain weed seeds. Never remove more than 1/3 of the existing height of the grass.
3. A shallow-rooted grass is in constant need of water, whereas a deeply-rooted grass requires much less water. Therefore, rain will meet the grass's growing needs during spring and summer in our climate.