On a hot summer day when the sun’s beating down, it’s easy to feel sorry for your lawn.
Before you turn your front yard into a replica of Niagara Falls, hold on, please.
Yes, watering your lawn in hot weather is really important. But how you do it is important, too.Watering too much, too often, or at the wrong time of day can actually hurt your lawn.
Check out these tips on watering your grass when it's hot:
First things first. Have you adjusted your irrigation controller for summer? Or is it still set for the cool, rainy days of Wisconsin and Minnesota spring?
It’s tempting, we know. But watering your lawn in hot weather doesn’t mean watering every day.
It sounds kind of mean, but you want your grass to have to search for water, sending its roots deeper into the soil. That encourages the roots to grow longer and deeper, which means your grass will be healthier.
Shallow roots can’t handle the stress of a sudden drought or a summer lawn disease as well as deeper roots.
Your lawn seems really thirsty on a hot summer afternoon, right? Shouldn’t you give it a nice long drink as the sun beats down?
Yikes, no. Watering your lawn on a hot summer afternoon is a really bad idea. The precious water will evaporate so quickly in that hot sun, it won’t even reach your lawn’s thirsty roots.
In addition to evaporation, wind is a factor here, too. Wind typically picks up as the day goes on. You don’t want your precious water droplets to blow away.
You’re probably waiting for a big announcement here about exactly how often to water your grass in hot weather.
Sorry, it’s just not that easy. (Life is full of disappointments, right?) There’s no such thing as one magic summer lawn watering rule for everybody.
Your goal should be an inch of water per week, and that includes any rain that falls. But lots of different factors affect how long you should actually water your lawn to get that inch.
All these factors come into play when it comes to watering your lawn in the summer — or any time of year.
You might need to run your sprinkler for five minutes or 60 minutes, depending on your yard’s unique conditions, the weather, the time of year, and other factors.
If your soil is clay, you’ll water differently than if your soil is sand. You might water 40 minutes to an hour if you have sandy soil, but just 15 minutes if you have clay.
Your best bet? Hire a skilled and knowledgeable irrigation company to help you assess your particular Wisconsin or Minnesota lawn and create an irrigation plan perfect for its needs.
Yes, brown spots can mean your grass needs water. But not always. If it seems like you’ve been watering enough, and you see a brown spot in your lawn, it could also mean a lawn fungus. If you pour on extra water, thinking that spot is dry, you’ll actually make it worse.
If you had your irrigation system’s spring tune-up, you might think everything's still fine, and you’re all set for summer lawn watering.
But summer is really hard on your sprinkler system. It can bring all sorts of potential problems. Sprinkler heads can get mowed off. Miscellaneous construction projects can damage underground systems without your knowledge. Plants have grown and are now blocking spray patterns.
So don’t skip that important summer irrigation system tune-up.
Watering your lawn in hot weather doesn’t mean turning your backyard into a rainforest.
But you do need an irrigation system that won’t let you down.
At RainMaster, we offer three levels of irrigation programs designed to keep your system working properly from spring through fall: Peak Performance, Optimum Operation, and Efficient Essentials.
You choose the level that suits your needs and let us do the rest.
Your irrigation program should be designed to match your needs. Every visit is planned to optimize the performance of your irrigation system, reduce water usage, and promote a healthier landscape.
Sign up for our Peak Performance plan, and we’ll come out every month and adjust the settings for you.
When you’re ready to put your trust in us, we can’t wait to meet you — and help you make the best choices for your lawn.
Want to be confident about your choice for irrigation services in Eau Claire, WI & Minneapolis? Request a quote today! We’ll review your options together so you can make a confident decision. Then, you can finally enjoy your lawn and stop worrying about it.