Table of Contents:

Proper watering is crucial to maintaining a healthy lawn. Below are several key tips to ensure you provide your lawn with the correct amount of water so it will thrive.

Why Read This Guide?

Prevent Lawn Damage: Learn how to identify and prevent heat stress, ensuring your lawn remains lush and healthy.

Efficient Watering Techniques: Master the best practices for watering your lawn to maximize its appearance and long term health.

Save Water and Reduce Bills: Discover how to adjust your watering schedule seasonally and use smart controllers to save water and lower your utility costs.

Customized Solutions for Your Lawn: Get practical, tailored advice to tackle the specific challenges of Texas heat and clay soil.

Coverage, Coverage, Coverage

This is the top irrigation challenge we at CitiTurf tackle daily for our clients.

Texas heat and the lack of rain will expose every weakness in your sprinkler system. Just because an area is getting wet does not mean it is getting enough water. You may have an area getting ½ inch of water while other areas get 1 inch. During the summer, the ½ inch coverage areas will start to brown out first while the 1-inch areas stay green. This will give you a spotty mix of green and brown areas in your lawn.


Common causes of coverage issues include:

  • Heads spaced too far apart: Nozzles are designed to have complete overlap to provide even water distribution.
  • Low pressure on a zone: This can be caused by too many heads per zone or design flaws.
  • Items blocking the heads: Objects in the lawn can obstruct the water flow.
  • Grass or plants blocking the nozzle: As plants grow they can interfere with the spray pattern.
  • Incorrect or clogged nozzles: Using the wrong type of nozzle or having clogged nozzles can disrupt even watering.

To check your coverage, place six coffee cups of the same size in the lawn. Place three cups in the brown areas and three in the green areas. Run the system for 30 minutes. This will help you identify if some areas get more water than others. Use a soil probe to check the soil moisture in the green areas compared to the brown areas.

Which is Better, Deep vs Frequent Watering?

It’s important to adjust your watering schedule as the seasons change. With clay soils, you can have a week of significant rain, and then 1-2 weeks later, the ground is already cracking, and the turf is starting to wilt. As temperatures increase, you should increase your watering times. Conversely, as the weather cools down, you should decrease your run times. The turf and soil will tell you when they need more water.


Watering Philosophy:

  • Water less often with longer run times. Watering every day is not suitable for the lawn. The roots never develop if the water is just at the surface. Watering one day a week is usually enough between October and May. If your city allows, two days a week is beneficial during the heat of the summer. If you are only allowed one day a week, it will still be fine if you have enough run times.
  • Run and Soak Cycles:
    Shorter zone run times and more run cycles are recommended. Find out how many total minutes you need to run your zone, then set up multiple run times on your 1-2 water days. Most controllers will allow 4-8 different run times in one day. Predawn and mornings are the most optimal times to water. Watering in the evening is only recommended if you have time constraints due to watering restrictions or the size of your property. Watering in the evening is better than not watering if that is your only option.
  • Watering Requirements:
    On average, the lawn needs 1 inch of water per week. During the heat of the summer, it may need 1.5 inches. Due to the complexity of your irrigation and landscape, providing specific watering run times in this article is impossible. There are hundreds of various factors that affect irrigation run times, such as shade, full sun, time of year, temperature, soil type, plant type, new plants, slope, drainage, water pressure, sprinkler design, and good or bad sprinkler coverage.

The Coffee Cup Test:

This is the most accurate way to determine the required run times per zone. If you get ½ inch of water in 30 minutes, you need 60 minutes of run time to equal 1 inch per week. Use at least 3 cups per zone to establish a good average.

Below are average precipitation rates. Remember, every system is different, but this is an average:

  • Sprays: An average of 60 minutes to achieve 1.5 inches of water.
  • Rotors: An average of 100 minutes to achieve 1.5 inches of water.
  • Drip: 90 minutes to achieve 1.5 inches of water.
  • MP Rotors: 155 minutes to achieve 1.5 inches of water.

Note: You will need to increase watering times during drought conditions and/or temperatures at or above 100 degrees.

Example Watering Schedule:

Let’s say you have six zones and need to run each zone for 1 hour per week to get 1 inch of water. You would set each station to run for approximately 10 minutes, with six different start times: 12:00 AM, 1:30 AM, 3:00 AM, 4:30 AM, 9:30 PM, and 10:45 PM. If you can water two days a week, then run three cycles each day in the morning: 2:00 AM, 3:30 AM, and 5:00 AM.

Tips To Save Money on Your Water Bill

Adjust Your Water Schedule Seasonally:

During cooler and rain-prone months, you can manage your water schedule to save money. Increase your run times during the hot and dry summer months. Sometimes, between October and May, you can severely cut back on watering, even possibly turning off the system completely. Save money during the rainy and cool season, and use those savings in the summer to boost your water. This is essential for turf survival and the following spring’s growth.

Winter Watering:

During winter, your lawn is still alive and needs water. If there is no rainfall, watering once every 1-2 weeks is sufficient. Before a freeze, watering your turf and plants can help insulate the root system and reduce the chance of freeze damage.

Use Seasonal Adjustments on Controllers:

If your controller has a seasonal adjust feature, use it instead of changing your run times every month. Set the controller for the maximum required run times during the summer. You can then use the percentage setting to reduce the watering each month. A good trick is to keep the seasonal adjustment percentage the same as the temperature outside (e.g., 50 degrees outside equals a 50% adjustment).

Smart Controllers:

Smart controllers can help you save water by adjusting run times based on the weather. However, they are not perfect. Weather is unpredictable, and you still need to monitor your lawn to see if any adjustments are required. Rain coverage is always uneven. It is possible to get substantially less rain at your home compared to what the local weather station received.

Smart Controller Benefits:

Some cities permit watering any day of the week if you have a smart controller. Check with your city to see if this applies to you.

Regular Landscape Checks:

Despite having a sprinkler system, it is crucial to do regular weekly checks on your landscape to ensure it is watering correctly. A quick walk around the property will alert you to any issues before it is too late to revive a struggling plant. Your landscape will tell you when it needs more water or if you are giving it too much. If the soil is cracking or turf and plants are wilting, check for moisture around the base of the plants.

Identifying Coverage Weaknesses:

Hot, dry weather will expose any weakness in your coverage or lack of run times. Areas that receive less water within the same zone require more watering to compensate, which can waste water.

Maintaining Drip Zones:

Drip zones are challenging to spot-check since they are under the turf or mulch. Ensure your plants’ root zones are getting moist. Watch for signs of stress in the turf and soil for cracking. Drip zones can easily be cut or punctured, but repairing them is a straightforward DIY process.

Watering Restrictions:

Some cities allow you to run drip systems any day of the week. Use your water day for sprays and rotors, and use off days for drip systems in your beds, parkway, and foundation. Check with your city for specific regulations.

Hand Watering New Plants:

New shrubs and flowers need watering directly at the root ball. Most landscape irrigation systems are designed to spread water evenly over an area and rarely deliver enough water for new plants.

Key Takeaways

  • Regular Irrigation Checks: Frequently perform quick spot checks on your irrigation system. This simple habit will save you money on your water bill and prevent costly replacements of bushes and turf.
  • Summer Watering: During the summer months, optimize for deep watering twice per week. Expect an increase in your water bill during the hottest four months in Texas. This is normal and necessary to prevent landscape damage and maintain your property’s appearance.
  • Winter Watering: Don’t turn off your water during the winter months. While you can significantly reduce watering to save money, it’s crucial not to stop watering entirely to keep your landscape healthy.

If you are concerned about the condition of your irrigation system or would like a professional opinion, our licensed Irrigation Technicians are highly skilled and experienced in handling all your sprinkler system repair needs.

Our standard inspection includes:

  • Running through all the zones to ensure your system is working efficiently.
  • Adjusting nozzles for optimal spray patterns.
  • Setting the controller with the appropriate run times per zone.

After the inspection, should repairs be necessary we will provide a fixed-cost quote.

We hope you find this information helpful. If you have any questions or want to schedule an irrigation system checkup, please call our office at 972-516-0001 or click www.cititurf.com/estimate/ to request a quote.

By following these guidelines, you can ensure your lawn remains healthy and vibrant, even in the challenging Texas heat. Proper watering is crucial, and understanding your irrigation system’s needs will help you maintain a beautiful and resilient lawn.