Maintenance Resources

Congratulations on your new landscape! Now that it is installed you need to care for and maintain it to keep it looking great, and to save it from deteriorating into another big expensive project to fix. It may seem like a lot to take care of, but knowing about a few simple topics will help greatly. We have compiled helpful information here and several videos for you to watch that will help you stay on top of your landscape maintenance.

 

Sprinklers

There are a few types of sprinklers and plant watering devices you will have in your yard.  Rotors, stationary, and drip lines.  Each run for different amounts of time and have different purposes

Rotors

As the name implies, rotors rotate.  This is to cover the largest amount of area possible, and they are commonly found in larger patches of lawn.  Generally, they will run for 20-40 minutes. (This is a general statement. It will vary depending on the time of year, your climate, how many days you water, and other factors. Please consult local sources and water conservancy districts for more region-specific suggestions.)

Stationary

Stationary spray heads are the ones that do not rotate.  They spray a consistent, non-moving fan of water. They are for slightly smaller areas of grass, such as a smaller yard, or a park strip.  These may run for 10-15 minutes. (This is a general statement. It will vary depending on the time of year, your climate, how many days you water, and other factors. Please consult local sources and water conservancy districts for more region-specific suggestions.)

Drip Lines

Drip lines are less visible than the other 2. They sit at the base of individual shrubs and plants and slowly drip water directly onto them. They will drip very slowly at a rate of 2 gallons per hour (if they use a red emitter) to ensure that the water will saturate the soil very well.  Because they drip so slowly, they need to drip for a little longer.  We recommend 30-40 minutes (This is a general statement.  It will vary depending on the time of year, your climate, how many days you water, and other factors. Please consult local sources and water conservancy districts for more region-specific suggestions.)  If you run these for too short of a time, your plants will shrivel and die. 

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Watering Days & Times

The number of days per week you water shouldn’t be something you set once and never touch again.  Different times of year have different temperatures, different rainfall, and that should affect how often you run the sprinklers.  As a general suggestion, water >5x per week in the summer, 3-4x in the spring and fall, and 0 times in the winter.  Your plants and grass will be dormant, and your sprinkler system should be winterized.  (This is a general statement.  It will vary depending on your climate, your plants, humidity, and other factors. Please consult local sources and water conservancy districts for more region-specific suggestions.)

 

New Sod

When your sod is freshly installed, it needs to be established.  This means you need to water it a lot in order for the roots to get deep and latch on. It should be watered daily for 1-2 weeks, depending on the time of year. The hotter it is, the longer it should be watered.

It will start to get very long during this period, but do not mow it while it is still soggy.  After the establishment period, don’t water for 1-2 days and check to see if it is still soggy or slips around when you walk on it. When it feels dry and sturdy, then mow it and put it back onto a regular watering schedule.

 

Fertilizer

A super lush and green yard doesn’t come from just watering a ton. That can only get you so far, and will start to waste water. We recommend fertilizing your yard several times a year. IFA has a 4-step fertilizer that works great, but you can use whatever you trust and like.

 

Watering the Right Amount

If your plants begin to wilt and look brown, the first thing to consider is how much water they are getting. The common assumption is that it’s not getting enough water, but overwatering can have a similar effect. Rather than immediately calling your landscape professional to fix the problem, you can run a test yourself.

You need to test the soil at the base of the plant. Pull back any bark, rocks, or ground cover where the plant goes into the ground. Put your fingers about 1 inch into the topsoil.  If the soil is muddy, overly wet, and having no time to dry out, or you can visibly see water pooling around the yard, then the plant is being over watered. Try cutting back the amount of days, or the time per day it is being watered on the sprinkler clock. (Find video above on adjusting and setting your sprinkler clock if you don’t know how) If the dirt is hard, overly dusty and crumbly, and completely dry, then the plant is being underwatered. Either increase the number of days or time per day it’s being watered or check to make sure water comes out at all by running a test on the clock. (also in the video above)

 

Winterization

Your sprinkler system is a very expensive investment for your property.  If it breaks then you will be footing a very hefty bill to fix it, or spending lots of hours to do it yourself.  For example, if you still have water in your pipes during winter, it will freeze, expand, and can burst your pipes.  That is why we recommend blowing out and winterizing your system in the fall before the first freeze of the year.

There are a few steps to winterizing your system…

• Shut off your water with the stop and waste valve

• Turn off your sprinkler timer

• Open the test ports on your backflow to release any trapped water

• Connect an air compressor to your back flow and slowly build up pressure (only a little)

• Open one valve at a time in your irrigation box and blow out your system

• Close the valves after only air is coming out of the sprinklers

 

Summary

There are clearly a lot of things you can do to make your lawn worthy of the cover of Home and Garden Magazine, but you don’t need that. Keep it simple, and check on your yard's health every so often to see where adjustments need to be made. Understanding the simple principles that we went over on this page will keep your yard healthy and beautiful without needing to hire a full time gardener. Remember that your lawn and plants are living, and therefore require your attention and responsibility. Remember that, paired with these tips, you won’t just have an outdoor space, but a landscape where friends, families, and neighbors can connect outside.