Summer Watering Guide for Phoenix, Arizona
Summer is upon us and summer watering in the Valley of the Sun can be challenging. Conserving water and keeping costs down while having healthy grass, plants and trees is a balancing act most folks have a hard time with.
Let’s take a look at some recommended watering guidelines and discuss a few watering tips so that you can have healthy grass, plants and trees all summer long and save money on your water bill.
When it’s 100 degrees + here’s a good starting point:
Common Low Water Plants (e.g. lantana, myrtle, oleander, sage, jasmine, rosemary) can be watered for 45 to 60 minutes every other day.
Cactus & Drought Tolerant Plants (e.g. saguaro, ocotillo, bougainvillea, agave) can be watered twice per week for 60 minutes each time.
Mature Native Trees & Drought Tolerant Trees (e.g. Mexican date palm, mesquite, palo verde, ironwood) don’t need regular watering. However, if these trees look extra dry during long periods without rain, watering them once per month for approximately 2 hours will spring them back to life.
Non-native & High Water Plants (e.g. roses, flowers, herbs and vegetables) should be watered twice per day, 20 to 30 minutes each time, for a total of 40 to 60 minutes.
Non-native & High Water Trees (e.g. newly planted native trees, citrus, ficus, queen palms) can be watered 2 to 3 times per week for 1 to 2 hours each time.
Bermuda grass can be watered every day 10 to 15 minutes per zone with pop-up sprinkler heads and twice as long with rotary type sprinkler heads.
These are general watering guidelines for established lawns, plants and trees. You should always monitor the health of your landscaping and increase or decrease the watering accordingly. Keep in mind that any newly planted shrubs and trees need to be watered every day for at least the first couple of weeks and sometimes longer depending on the nursery’s recommendations. Newly installed sod may need to be watered 2 to 3 times per day for the first couple of weeks to help the roots become established.
Here are some additional helpful watering tips:
1) Watering in the early morning is best [4 to 5am] to prevent evaporation of water in the hot sun. You will use less water and save money on your water bill.
2) Night time watering can lead to mold growth (in lawns) and root rot (in plants and trees) because drying doesn’t occur very fast. Grass, plants and trees do best with cycles of watering and drying.
3) Check the health of your grass, plants and trees by walking around the property every few weeks to observe the foliage. If things don’t look good, adjust the watering up or down accordingly. Check the soil at the roots; if the soil is dry increase the watering, if the soil stays fairly damp all the time decrease the watering.
4) It’s a good idea to regularly inspect drip systems for leaks and problems and lawn sprinklers for broken sprinkler heads and good coverage.
To get your irrigation system into tip-top shape, make repairs or get advice about your landscaping, give the expert irrigation techs at D&L Sprinkler Service a call at 602-329-3396. Our friendly staff is available Monday through Friday 8am to 4pm.
