Moisture Holds Onto Heat
Winter hits lawns with a one-two punch of cold temperatures and drying winds.
Bottom line: moist soil acts as an insulator, slowing heat loss across a grass plants root zone.
Its not just actively growing grasses that benefit from wet soil heat retention.
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Dormant grasses benefit too.
Although dormant grasses are not actively producing new roots and shoots, their roots are living.
When soil temperatures dip too low, the roots are harmed and the plants can decline.
Water Regularly in Fall
Fall irrigation is even more critical than watering your lawn in winter.
Both warm-season and cool-seasontypes of grassesprepare for winter by retaining moisture and nutrients in fall.
Provide turf grass with about an inch of water a week in fall.
All that root growth requires regular water.
Grass blades turn brown and some become brittle.
The root system enters a state of rest, ceasing growth.
A dormant lawn is not absorbing water or nutrients.
There is no need to water dormant turf unless the soil is excessively dry, advises Park and Smith.
Generally winter rain and snow provide the water turf grass needs to survive.
Lawns in the Desert Southwest are an exception.
Winter watering also helpscombat clover mites, which ravagedry lawnsin winter in the Southwest.
Apr 18 F| H 1803 | U, Print 2024 |.
Landscape irrigation management part 4: winter irrigation & winterizing.
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