Lawncare and Landscaping
General concepts:
To help understand the underlying concepts behind our quick guidelines for watering new lawns, consider the following analogy. Think of the roots of your newly installed lawn as straws through which the plant drinks water. The roots grow into the soil, which can be considered a glass of water for this analogy. Now imagine yourself drinking from a very tall glass with a straw that will only reach 1/2 inch deep. In order for you to get enough daily water, you will need to fill the glass with small amounts of water numerous times throughout the day. As time passes, your straw gets longer and you can access water from deeper in the glass. The longer your straw, the less often you need to fill the glass. Ultimately, your straw can reach the bottom and you are able to fill your glass with the full amount of water once every other day.
This is very close to what is going on with your new lawn. At first, the roots are very shallow and cannot access the deeper water. To keep the lawn hydrated you will need to water 3 times per day for short periods of time. In the second week, the roots have begun to penetrate deeper into the soil and you can water less often (2 times per day). In the third week the roots are even deeper and you can water once per day. Ultimately your lawn will be established and you should be able to water every other day if you increase the time appropriately.
Be careful not to over water your new lawn. Too much water can deprive the roots of oxygen and retard development or possibly even kill the lawn. During the warm humid summer months, too much water can increase the likelihood of disease. If you are concerned that you may be applying too much water, reduce the watering time until you begin to see lawn wilt, than increase your time by a small amount.
Because of the differences between irrigation systems, soil types, weather conditions, and site conditions, we cannot accurately estimate irrigation times for you. Follow our lawn watering guidelines and learn to recognize when your lawn is dry.
New Lawn Watering Schedule Guidelines:
After all the sod is down and rolled, turn on your sprinklers and let them run until the sod is good and soaked. To keep it that way, water according to the following general guidelines:
Caring for your New Sod
After the 4th week, try to water every second or third day during the warm dry months.
Do not water new sod between 4 pm and 4 am.
Watering Time:
Look for signs of wilting due to lack of water. Some wilting is OK, but can cause damage if allowed to continue too long. If you observe wilting, water immediately and increase the irrigation time on your clock.
Healthy Plant
Upright
Bright
Shiny
Green
Leaf is flat
Wilted Plant
Limp
Dull
Blueish Gray
Leaf is rolled
Soil Moisture:
First watering should be a deep watering to the point that water puddles. This will help saturate the soil profile that can act as reserves later in the establishment. Caution must be given to avoid water runoff.
Each watering after the first should be light and frequent, never allowing the surface to completely dry out. The seed is most vulnerable when the new seedling is first coming out of the ground.
Normally after the first mowing or 4 to 6 weeks the waterings can be reduce to once per week.
It is critically important that the sod not be allowed to dry out prior to full establishment. This may require watering two or more times per day. If the area becomes dry, the young grass plants will die. We have no responsibility for damage cause by failure to provide proper follow-up irrigation.
Watering Schedule:
Week 1 7:00 AM
Week 2 7:00 AM
Week 3 7:00 AM
Week 4 7:00 AM
11:00 AM
2:00 PM
2:00 PM
