It’s summer, Colorado. I love the smell of sprinklers in the morning! Green lawns are soft underfoot, are a great place for children to play, and make summer memories for your family. But as with everything in life, good things take some work.

Colorado lawns took a hit this year with our dry winter. Many lawns are showing drought stress, so we all need to act quickly to make sure we save our wonderful family spaces.

Turn on those sprinklers

If you don’t have a sprinkler system, please be sure to water any grassy areas by hand. Time to lug out that hose (and don’t forget the water fights with your kids)!

For homes with sprinkler systems, make sure your sprinklers are turned on at the source and are working right. Remember—if you’re in a single family home, it’s your responsibility to get those sprinklers turned on and make sure they’re working. And now is the time to do it.

If the lawn dies, it’s incredibly expensive to replace. In dry Colorado Springs, the most important thing to do is to WATER, WATER, and more WATER.

So if you haven’t already, please get this done immediately. Ask us for assistance if you need to!

Call someone to get it done right

You can use any company you prefer. After they get your sprinkler system going, ask them to put you on their list to come back this fall and winterize it.

We have checked out the following companies, and know they do good work:

• Mountainscapes: 719-650-4619
• Grassroots: 719-391-2745
• Colorado Stoneworks Landscaping: 719-538-6016

If you have any questions please contact our office at: (719) 445-7172. And enjoy that lawn! Wading pools, family barbecues, and children games in the grass form those lasting family memories of summer.

More about Drought Stress

Drought stress occurs from either not enough sprinkler time per zone, poor sprinkler system coverage, or damage/defects in the operation of your sprinkler system.

First, check to make sure all areas are being properly covered. Watch each zone run and look for obvious issues.

Next, set your timer to water 25-30 minutes per zone for pop up heads, and 45-50 minutes per zone for rotor heads. Lower output, water saving nozzles need an hour. (Google search “Mp rotator” to see if you have these.)

Lastly, fine tune by using rain gauges to measure actual coverage. All areas should get 0.5-inches each time you water.

If you see drought stress, an application of Revive will help your lawn recover. Aerating will also help the lawn recover by allowing the water to reach deeper roots.