LawnGevity Landscape Maintenance

IS IT TIME TO START WATERING MY LAWN?

Not yet! The water requirements for turf grass along the Emerald Coast change significantly in the winter for a number of reasons.
First, there are fewer hours of daylight and the temperatures are cooler, therefore the grass experiences far less "evapotranspiration" (loss of moisture from the plant into the air) than during the summer. Second, since the grass stops growing, it doesn't need as much water to produce new leaf tissue and finally, during the dormant season, the lawn actually sheds part of its root system, decreasing the grass's ability to absorb the same volume of water it could during the summer.
For these reasons, the grass does not need to be watered by the irrigation system from November through February. Continuing to water the grass through the winter may cause the ground to remain soggy, creating ideal conditions for disease to develop and kill the grass over the winter.
Another good reason to stop watering is so the irrigation pump can be drained to avoid the risk of freeze damage.
Wait to irrigate the lawn until the temperatures begin to reach the high 70s, that’s usually in late March. Even then, if we are getting rainfall at least once or twice a week, it’s best to not to water.
The true purpose of the irrigation system is to be a safety net to keep the grass from drought stress during extended periods of warm, dry weather. Using irrigation your lawn more often than needed encourages shallow root growth and disease activity.
By the way, established shrubs and ornamental plants will also be fine through the winter without irrigation.

Are you having problems keeping your lawn healthy? I offer free lawn consultations. PM, text or call me ‪850-240-7935‬

With the holidays this week, our regularly scheduled service day will be a little earlier.

Emerald Bay

Kelly Plantation