Watering Plants, Grass Seed, & Sod
Water is one of the most important tasks associated with the growth, health, and longevity of plants, seed, and sod. Without the proper watering techniques, the investment in your landscape will not be able to thrive. Below are watering instructions on how to properly care for your plants, seed, and sod after installation.
Seed Watering Instructions
Please note that watering new seed after installation is essential to the overall health, success, and longevity of the new lawn no matter the time of year. If you do not have a pre-existing irrigation system or you did not have one installed with your sod service, kindly refer to the watering instructions listed below.
When?
• Be sure to water lawn in the early morning or evening
What To Use?
• Set up a portable sprinkler(s) that will cover the entire area that was sodded. If you would like, set up times to allow for the watering process to be automated providing for easier care.
• This only applies to lawns that do not have an irrigation system
How Much?
• It is best to water the grass seedlings 2 to 3 times a day for about 5 to 10 minutes each time. This way you replace any water that has evaporated without oversaturation. It amounts to 3-4 inches of water per week
• Once the grass seeds germinate, you should water for a longer period once a day. The frequency of watering should slowly reduce to a long soak of about 40 minutes on alternate days then cut down to 2-3 days a week. The aim of watering after germination is to assist the grass to form deeper roots. For this, less frequent watering is required.
• Keep careful track of the weather. Showers and heavy rain will tell you how often to water grass seed. Skip the watering session after rains.
When To Mow?
• Your so should be good to mow approx. the end of week 3. If your lawn reaches over 3.5", mow off a third of the length even if it has not been 3 weeks. Do not mow the grass less than 2" on the first few mowing's. Be extremely carful when mowing the first few times to prevent damage.
• Regular lawn mowing on a weekly schedule after the third week will allow for the healthiest lawn along with allowing the roots to grow deeper into the soil. NEVER mow more than 1/3 of the grass blade.
Helpful Tips
• When watering, for the first few weeks, please try to stay off the lawn (including pets) to allow for the grass has germinated
• NOTE: Just because it rains do not assume you do not have to water. We have to receive at least one inch of rainfall to skip watering.
Sod Watering Instructions:
Please note that watering sod after installation is essential to the overall health, success, and longevity of the new lawn no matter the time of year. If you do not have a pre-existing irrigation system or you did not have one installed with your sod service, kindly refer to the watering instructions listed below.
When?
• Be sure to water lawn in the early morning or evening
What To Use?
• Set up a portable sprinkler(s) that will cover the entire area that was sodded. If you would like, set up times to allow for the watering process to be automated providing for easier care.
• This only applies to lawns that do not have an irrigation system
How Much?
• A general rule of them is to make sure the new sod is getting approx. 1" of water per day for the first week depending on the season, weather, and temperature . If the sod is spongy to the step, then it is watered enough.
• Please make sure that the soil is also wet too, not just the top of the grass. A tip is to take a long screw driver and stick it in the soil. If it goes in easy and it is moist, then you are watering enough. If it is hard to stick in and it is dry soil, then you are watering too little.
• On very hot Summer days, running the sprinkler(s) a few times a day to ensure the sod does not dry out is important. If the sod dries out, it can shrink, turn brown, and can die.
• After the first week, you can decrease the frequency of watering per day and increase the number of days per watering.
• After the second week, reduce watering times per occurrence and skid a day between watering if sod is NOT drying out.
• By week four, you can be watering 1-2 times every other day. After week four, your new lawn should be good with watering every 2-3 days.
When To Mow?
• Your so should be good to mow approx. the end of week 3. If your lawn reaches over 3.5", mow off a third of the length even if it has not been 3 weeks. Do not mow the grass less than 2" on the first few mowing's. Be extremally carful when mowing the first few times to prevent damage.
• Regular lawn mowing on a weekly schedule after the third week will allow for the healthiest lawn along with allowing the roots to grow deeper into the soil. NEVER mow more than 1/3 of the grass blade.
Helpful Tips
• When watering, for the first week, please try to stay off the lawn (including pets) to allow for the sod to fully root into the soil.
• NOTE: Just because it rains do not assume you do not have to water. We have to receive at least one inch of rainfall to skip watering.
• After the first month of the sod being installed, a proper fertilizer, weed, grub, and insect control is recommended to sustain the quality of the turf.
Plant Watering Instructions:
Watering is by far the most important ingredient to establishing plant material and must be done. A good schedule will allow for the new plant(s) the survive, thrive and be healthy. If you do not have a pre-existing irrigation system or one installed with the planting service, please follow the below instructions. If you have any questions regarding plant health or watering, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Trees
• Trees should receive 5-10 gallons of water every day for the first two weeks. For weeks two to four, decrease watering to 4-5 times per week still with the same amount of water. After the first month, you can decrease the frequency of watering to 2-3 times per week adjusting for any dry periods or very rainy seasons. For month two and three water 1-2 times per week adjusting for outside conditions.
• If your tree(s) have water bags on the base, please monitor them every few days to a week and fill up as needed. Tree bags should be kept on the tree(s) for two to three months. Tree bags MUST be removed before Winter and the ground freezing.
• If your tree(s) has stakes with strings installed, please keep on for 6 months minimum. Stakes may be needed to be kept on longer (up to 2 years), but before removing them, please contact Golden Wolf to confirm if they can be taken off or kept on longer.
Shrubs
• Shrubs should receive 2-5 gallons of water every day for the first two weeks. For weeks two to four, decrease watering to 4-5 times per week still with the same amount of water. After the first month, you can decrease the frequency of watering to 2-3 times per week adjusting for any dry periods or very rainy seasons. For month two and three water 1-2 times per week adjusting for outside conditions.
Perennials
• Perennials should get approx. 30 seconds of water once a day for the first week. For weeks two and three, reduce watering to 3-5 times per week depending on weather conditions. For weeks 4+, water 2-3 times per week, more so during hot and dry periods. It is also possible to over-water, so before watering again, stick your finger a couple of inches into the soil, (making sure you go through the mulch), if the soil is wet – do not water.
Helpful Tips
• Once the plants are established, once-a-week watering should be sufficient. From installation to year 2, monitor your plants during the heat of the summer, they may need to be watered during hot or dry periods.
• NOTE: Just because it rains do not assume you do not have to water. We have to receive at least one inch of rainfall to skip watering.
• Watering is best done in the early morning or the evening.
• Please be sure to water the roots of the plant, not the leaves. The roots are responsible for absorbing the water, not the leaves.
• A slow and steady trickling stream of water is best when watering. Do not turn your hose on full blast and aim it on the roots. That can damage the plant and will lead to little or no watering being absorbed by the roots.