How often to water Bermudagrass? (Spring: how much, new home, school)

[gliebster]

I'm a new homeowner with a Rain Bird sprinkler system and have no idea what to set it at. How often and how much do you folks water your Bermudagrass during Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall?

[momof2dfw]

Find a local Texas Master Gardner, visit their site, visit the TAMU (Texas A&M Horticulture), anything from Neil Sperry, etc to get ALL of the info you will ever need to have a great yard and garden in Texas. As for watering, you don't need to water near as much as you may think you do. If you overwater in the summer you cause very shallow roots so they don't grow deep to find a water resource or to get very established. THEN if and when we do get a hard freeze because the roots are sitting in the first few inches of soil they will freeze and you will lose your lawn. Anyway, here is a link to some info for you on watering in Texas:


Texas Urban Landscape Guide

And here is one on WaterWise:
Texas Urban Landscape Guide

[beowulf7]

Also, check out The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company : Home for their recommendations.

I have BG and water 1" per week during the summer and 1" per fortnight in the winter. During the spring and fall, I water 1" per 10 days. Watering less frequently and more thoroughly is better than the opposite. During spring through fall, I water twice a week and in the winter, just once a week.

[Soccersupporter]

Originally Posted by beowulf7

Also, check out The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company : Home for their recommendations.

I have BG and water 1" per week during the summer and 1" per fortnight in the winter. During the spring and fall, I water 1" per 10 days. Watering less frequently and more thoroughly is better than the opposite. During spring through fall, I water twice a week and in the winter, just once a week.

Coming from CA where everything is pretty much green year round I have some learning to do. Is there a site that anyone knows of that will give help in plant selection, annuals, etc.. that are common in north Texas? My wife went off the word of someone at Lowes and wasted some $$ on plants that could not withstand the cold. Thanks!

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by Soccersupporter

Coming from CA where everything is pretty much green year round I have some learning to do. Is there a site that anyone knows of that will give help in plant selection, annuals, etc.. that are common in north Texas? My wife went off the word of someone at Lowes and wasted some $$ on plants that could not withstand the cold. Thanks!

Find books by Neil Sperry and search out your local Texas Master Gardners. The Texas A&M Horticulture website is also a wealth of info (that school FINALLY got something right ).

[gliebster]

Thanks for posting the resources, guys.

Originally Posted by Soccersupporter

Coming from CA where everything is pretty much green year round I have some learning to do.

As I remember, 12 inches of rain per year caused a piffy-green year round. But at least the grass didn't hibernate.

[beowulf7]

Note that BG goes yellow/brown during the winter season. It looks dead. But it'll spring back to life in late March/early April. Too bad the weeds are the only green on the lawn this time of the year.

[Dallascaper]

Originally Posted by gliebster

I'm a new homeowner with a Rain Bird sprinkler system and have no idea what to set it at. How often and how much do you folks water your Bermudagrass during Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall?

Hello gliebster,

Can you determine what type of soil you have? If you have 'black gumbo' or red clay, then long, deep watering is okay if done in moderation. If you have sandy soil then short, frequent watering is the way to go. You might have natural clay soil, but your builder might have graded your lot with sandy loam; if that is the case, water frequently if the sand is more than 2 or 3 inches deep.

Keep in mind that promoting grass to grow deep roots with long watering is a borderline myth. I say that because "deep roots" is relative; your grass won't grow roots any deeper than 2 or 3 inches anyway, so deep watering is sometimes a waste of money.

I have rocky, sandy soil, so I water each zone for 15 minutes every other day June - September, once a week the rest of the year, and not at all if we have rain.

Hope this helps.

[gliebster]

Thank you.

I stuck it with a screwdriver and it came out with some tan clay. There seem to be a lot of little rocks laying around my lawn too. A little of everything perhaps. We'll see what happens.