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I am no expert, but I believe that if you don't water, the grass will just go dormant when it gets too hot and then come back when it gets rain. If you water, I believe you create a more shallow (less healthy) root system that overtime gets spoiled and will die if not watered. Again, I'm no expert but I thought that was the way it worked.
This house we just moved into here in NC has an established fescue lawn. Its the first house I've had in about 15 years that didn't have an irrigation system, but those were in NY. The house we are moving out of had no top soil to speak of... practically straight sand and it was like a sponge. You could water it non stop and as soon as you stopped the grass felt brittle.
I am not planning to water here, but we'll see how it goes. I think I'm OK with the lawn turning brown if it gets too hot.
The dormancy makes sense. Our apt lawns went dormant during the restrictions and came right back when it rained.
I asked the super why he was testing the sprinklers now that restrictions are over. He said the system doesn't use drinking quality water.
The way I see it is, why pay for water to make grass grow so you then need to mow it?
I am no expert, but I believe that if you don't water, the grass will just go dormant when it gets too hot and then come back when it gets rain. If you water, I believe you create a more shallow (less healthy) root system that overtime gets spoiled and will die if not watered. Again, I'm no expert but I thought that was the way it worked.
Not with fescue. Fescue will die and you have to re-seed. It needs to be watered, but it should be watered deep to force the roots down.
OK..am I crazy, or has nobody suggested watering at night? Only water after it gets dark. That way the roots don't burn when they come up to get the water and the grass stays hydrated longer. Maybe that is just a very obvious genreral assumption everyone is already going with and that's why it hasn't been mentioned?
Am I the only one here whose grass is *not* burning? We have fescue behind the house and zoysia (and some parts fescue) in front....it all looks great and we haven't watered at all! Even the new sod (been down about 2 months, is maybe 1/5 of all the grass--the rest was already there) looks good.
Am I the only one here whose grass is *not* burning? We have fescue behind the house and zoysia (and some parts fescue) in front....it all looks great and we haven't watered at all! Even the new sod (been down about 2 months, is maybe 1/5 of all the grass--the rest was already there) looks good.
If it is in the shade, it will be doing better. It does not like hot temps in direct sunlight.
I let it go crispy during the drought last year. The roots will stay alive with the fescue lawn and in the spring this year it was lush and green. I wouldn't worry about it unless you live in a subdivision that punishes you for things you can't control.
Also planting trees in the yard wouldn't be a bad idea in many of those clear-cut neighborhoods (for shading the grass). And in a few years you'll be the envy of all the neighbors and leave a legacy in the yard as well.
OK..am I crazy, or has nobody suggested watering at night? Only water after it gets dark. That way the roots don't burn when they come up to get the water and the grass stays hydrated longer. Maybe that is just a very obvious genreral assumption everyone is already going with and that's why it hasn't been mentioned?
Watering at night is a good way encourage fungus growth, which is a bad thing for lawns. The best time to water is early morning just before/at sunrise - you don't lose as much to evaporation and wind is usually light, it soaks in before the sun bakes it, and yet the water isn't sitting on the grass all night.
The downside is that if you don't have things on timers, you have to get up pretty early.
And it's a fine line between letting fescue go dormant and having it die off completely. Even dormant grass needs some water to survive.
Watering at night is a good way encourage fungus growth, which is a bad thing for lawns. The best time to water is early morning just before/at sunrise - you don't lose as much to evaporation and wind is usually light, it soaks in before the sun bakes it, and yet the water isn't sitting on the grass all night.
Exactly right. It doesn't hurt anything to water in the middle of the day, either. It's just not as efficient since you have more evaporation and you have to water longer so the proper amount seeps down into the soil. The main issue with watering is people actually water too much and for too short of a duration. Watering too often and too little causes shallow roots since they tend to curve towards the surface to actually reach the water that's not reaching them. To water properly you need to measure the output of your sprinkler by setting either a rain gauge or a soup can with a line marked one inch from the bottom on the side of the can. It make take 2 hours to achieve one inch of water. It all depends on the sprinkler. But you want to make sure each section receives 1 inch of water a week by watering once a week. This promotes deep roots and prevents the grass from burning out so easily.
If you are watering properly and still experiencing burnout the grass may be suffering from an iron deficiency. You can purchase a product called Ironite from your local home improvement store and it'll green the grass right up without causing it to grow wildly.
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