Farmer’s hand watering a young plant
Everyone loves a deep green lawn, and big, colorful blooms on their flowers but if you’re not watering just the right way, you could end up with a brown lawn and drooping flowers.
If you’re ready to have the best-looking yard on the block, just follow these temperature related watering tips, and your plants will reward you with a beautiful view!
When the weather is from 65-75 degrees:
General lawn care:
During mild temperatures, your lawn needs about 1 to 1 1/4 inches of water a week. During the spring, if there are several days of above average temperatures with no rain, this means that your irrigation system should be turned on for at least once a day for a half hour to 45 minutes.
(Remember, this is only a general irrigation guide. If your lawn has more areas of shade, or if you have clay soil where drainage is poor, you should visually monitor the turf and adjust your watering accordingly.)
Watering when the weather is from 75° to 85°
If there hasn’t been any significant rainfall, irrigation should consist of 1 to 1.5 hours of watering, twice a week.
Temperatures 85° and above
If there hasn’t been any significant rainfall, irrigation should consist of 1 to 1.5 hours of watering twice a week, plus daily syringing. Syringing is when you give the lawn an extra soak for 15 minutes during the hottest portion of the day. These short watering sessions will help the grass cool itself and maintain its vigor.
No matter the weather, trees, shrubs, and gardens also have a few rules.
For newly planted trees/shrubs: Smaller trees and shrubs should receive a few inches of water every two weeks for the first three years as their roots grow, and they adjust to their new environments. Bigger and more established trees will fine with just natural rainfall (larger more established trees will make do with rainfall).
Garden beds (trees, shrubs, perennials): Need one inch of water a week.
Vegetable gardens: Need one and a half to two inches of water a week (in extremely hot weather, check for drooping and give a bit of extra water.)