Watering Tips

No matter where you live or what type of grass you grow, at some point you'll have to water the lawn. Exactly when and how often depends on several factors: your grass species, your soil type, your local climate, and the pattern of watering you have established in the past.

The water requirements for a given lawn can range from a minimum of 1/10 of an inch per day in a cool or shady location to 1/2 inch per day in full sun, hot temperatures, high winds, and low humidity. But that does not mean you have to water every day.

The soil under the lawn has a lot to do with how often you need to water. Sandy soils do not hold water well, so a lawn grown on sand may have to be sprinkled two to three times a week if it doesn't rain. However, clay retains water well, and a lawn on a clay soil may require watering only once a week.

The lawn should be watered slowly, deeply, moistening soil to a depth of 6 to 12 inches, and as infrequently as possible.

Running a sprinkler for a few minutes every evening is the worst way to water a lawn. Roots grow only where there is water, so if you consistently wet only the top few inches of soil, the roots do not venture any deeper. Eventually, the limited depth of the root system forces you into watering more often. That means trouble, because frequent watering keeps the surface wet, which is ideal for disease development. If roots go deep into the soil, they can draw on a larger underground water supply and the lawn can go much longer between waterings.

How do you know when the lawn needs water? It will tell you. The grass blades roll up lengthwise to conserve moisture. At the same time they lose their bright green color and the enter lawn may take on a grayish cast. Thirsty grass plants also lose their resiliency, so if you walk across a lawn in need of water the grass will not sprig back, and your footprints will remain visible.