Proper watering techniques guarantee the heath and beauty of your lawn and plants. It's important to water your plants deeply. The appearance of your plants reflects how much moisture they have. Yellow, drooping leaves indicate over-watering, while grayish leaves and wilting indicate under-watering. If you can leave a footprint on the grass, it is also an indication of under-watering.

Look at your lawn and plants carefully before watering them to gauge the right amount of water they need. It's best to water early in the morning before 10 a.m. because evaporation is less during these hours. Evaporation is also less during the night, but night watering can encourage fungal infestations.

Your lawn benefits most when it receives 1 to 1.5 inches of water all in one sitting as opposed to small waterings a few times per week. To help with measuring the water you are using I suggest using an empty tuna can as they are typically just over 1 inch tall. Your watering schedule will depend on the rainfall as well because including rainfall you do not want you lawn to receive over 1.5-2 inches of water. So in the Spring and Fall adjust your watering accordingly. Also, bear in mind that clay soils need less watering than sandy soils.

Leaving grass clippings on your lawn is generally a good thing, but when thatch starts to build up at a height more than half an inch, it's time to dethatch your lawn. Doing so will allow the water to access the roots of your grass rather than just slide on the surface. Aeration is also a great technique for allowing air and water to properly enter the ground and your lawns roots.

Conserving water is an important aspect of lawn care, especially in areas where water is limited. Make sure that your watering equipment is working properly as broken sprinklers and hoses waste a lot of water. If you're using sprinklers, set it to water only your lawn and not the pavement, driveway, or sidewalks. You can also mix in peat moss or mulch with your soil in flower beds which retain a lot of moisture needed by your plants.

Horton's Lawn Care L.L.C. offers many services to assist you in the proper care, maintenance, and beautification of your lawn including: aeration, detaching, lawn rolling, re-seeding, granular fertilization, lawn mowing, weed whipping, edging, hedge trimming, flower, tree planting, landscaping, spring clean ups, fall clean ups, and snow removal. They currently provide lawn care services in the Genesee County Michigan area primarily in Burton, Davison, Flint, Flushing, Grand Blanc, Swartz Creek. For a Free Estimate call Chris @ (810) 877-9655.

Let us show you how beautiful your lawn can look.

 
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2 Comments on Are you properly watering your lawn and plants?

Chris:  Good information.  My husband and I struggle with our lawn here in Northern VA.  We seed every year and fertilize at least once. It always seems to dry up though.  I'm told that some types of grass do that in extreme heat.  

06/30/2008 09:52 AM by Chris Ann Cleland, GRI (Long & Foster)


Chris- I would like to suggest that you try a seed that is drought tolerant, and watering during the coolest hours of the day (early morning is actually best though, as night time watering can sometimes cause moss/ and or disease). And yes, many types of grasses do that in extreme heat, that is the reason I suggest using a drought tolerant seed. Also keep activities on the lawn during the heat to a minimum and do as little as possible on the lawn so it isn't under as much stress while it is trying to deal with the heat. As far as fertilizers, you must wait a minimum for 3-4 months before and after putting down the new seed before using one as that can also kill the new grass. (I actually don't even like using a fertilizer for the 1st year after installing new grass seeds). When you do use a fertilizer I suggest using a summer fertilizer during the late spring or early summer that is designed for summer use and promotes drought and heat tolerance (I know Scott's makes a product for this use, and can be found at many local hardware stores like Lowe's and Home Depot for the DIYer, and is also what I use). I haven't used their new Water Smart fertilizers yet but you may even want to try that around March, then do the Summer fertilizer around June.

One of the good seeds that I have found and liked for drought resistance here in MI, is Pennington Tall Fescue. Might be something to check into, but I would definitly look for drought resistant in whatever grass seed you choose. Goodluck :-D

06/30/2008 02:05 PM by Chris Horton (Horton's Lawn Care L.L.C.)


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Environmental Services: Chris Horton (Horton's Lawn Care L.L.C.)
Chris Horton
Burton, MI
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Horton's Lawn Care L.L.C.

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