When Is The Best Time To Water Your Lawn In Hot Weather To Keep Grass Green

Water is vital to ensure a healthy lawn. A well-established lawn requires minimal watering even during increased temperatures.

However, extreme heat temperatures can harm your lawn.

Consequently, your grass will require more water to cool down. In this article, we discuss the best time to water the lawn in hot weather.

Knowing how much water and when to water your grass could be tricky.

Watering your lawn 2 or 3 days a week is the ideal schedule under normal weather conditions.

Yet, dispersing water when it’s 95 degrees Fahrenheit outside will only cause water to evaporate quickly, which leads to a waste of resources and effort.

During sweltering days, it’s advisable to soak the soil into a depth of 1 to 2 inches per week.

Just like standard watering rules, the best time to water your lawn is in the early morning. 

​Yet, this can only be effective if you know how much water to release or how long to water in hot weather.

Related post: Seasonal Lawn Care Guide and Tips

What Happens if I Don’t Water My Grass In Hot Weather?

Cool-season grasses can survive prolonged periods of dry weather. For instance, a Kentucky seagrass will only grow dormant for up to six weeks, a natural survival mechanism for grass.

The leaves will turn color to either brown or yellow, but the lawn remains alive.

But if it goes beyond six weeks, you face the risk of your lawn dying. This is why it’s still advisable to water a lawn in hot weather.

Related post: Will Watering Dead Grass Bring My Lawn Back Life?

Similarly, lawns are likely to grow brown-colored leaves when deprived of water. The summer heat will oblige you to water your lawn more to prevent it from becoming drought-stressed.

This is especially true when there’s a combination of high temperatures and strong winds.

When your location has extreme temperatures of the high 90s and over 100 degrees Fahrenheit for an extended period.

You might need to water your lawn more than the recommended sprinkler run times of three times a week.

When is the Best Time to Water Lawn in Hot Weather?

Temperatures are at their lowest during the early morning or late evening. Hence, the best time to water lawns is when air temperatures are lower and when there is dew on the ground.

Know that there are tiny openings on the surface of the leaves called stomata, which remain open throughout the day. Water can get evaporated from the stomata. 

When Should I Water the Lawn When it’s Hot?

The break of dawn is the best time of day to water your lawn in hot weather. This is even the recommendable time in cold and normal conditions.

The early hours of the morning are effective because evaporation is low at this time due to outdoor cooler temperatures.

Thus, there’s no water waste since there is less wind, and the water gets to remain on the lawn.

It could be anytime before 10 a.m. but ideally between 6 to 8 a.m., only if the crack of dawn isn’t ideal for your schedule. As long as you get to soak the soil deeply, little to no water is lost to evaporation.

Remember, do not water a lawn when it’s approaching midday, especially when there’s full sun.

Water as early as you can to give time for your lawn to dry up during the day and avoid creating optimal conditions for fungal growth.

Related post: Watering New Grass Seed: How Much To Water After Overseeding Your Lawn

Should You Water Plants in the Middle of the Day?

High sun + hot weather = too much evaporation

Choosing midday to water a lawn in hot weather is counter-productive because a lot of water won’t reach the soil due to evaporation.

Aside from rapid evaporation, strong winds at midday may cause uneven water dispersal. Strong winds might spread the water onto sidewalks, driveways, or streets.

Should I water My Lawn At Night?

Watering the lawn early in the day gives ample time for the grass to dry out, and the roots could still achieve water uptake.

While the sun is not a threat at night, watering lawns in the late evening or night may cause the grass to stay damp overnight, making your lawn susceptible to disease.

Likewise, the continuous temperature drop could be detrimental to your lawn because water may remain stagnant, which invites fungal growth.

Early in the morning remains to be the best time to water a lawn in hot weather.

Related post: Is Watering Lawn At Night A Good Idea?

How Often Should I Water your grass in Extreme Heat? 

As a general rule, it is ideal for watering a lawn in hot weather infrequently yet thoroughly instead of lightly misting at various times of the day.

You must water your lawn in hot weather at least three times per week, as long as you soak the soil to a depth of at least 6 to 8 inches.

Akin to normal conditions, watering your lawn daily will create a shallow root system, which dries out fast and weakens your lawn.

Therefore, less frequent but deep watering is preferable because it encourages grassroots to develop and run robust systems underneath the soil.

This enables your lawn to be more robust and disease-resistant.

How Much Water Should I Give My Lawn in Hot Weather? 

Lawns with clay soil or more shade don’t require much water because they can retain more moisture.

On the other hand, porous and sandy soil might need more water.

When watering a lawn in hot weather, you should at least provide 1 to 1.5 inches of water every early morning or during each watering session.

Note that you have to produce this amount three times a week.

Soil Type	Absorption Capabilities	Depth of 1-inch water
Clay	It holds water longer because it absorbs water slowly.	4 to 5 inches
Sandy	It needs less water because it can absorb water quickly.	12 inches
Loam	Reduces the risk of runoff or puddling because it absorbs water evenly	7 inches

How Long Should I Water My Grass? 

It is ideal for watering your lawn about 1 inch of water for every single application per week. On average, it takes 30 minutes to disperse 0.5 inches of water.

Therefore, you must water your lawn in hot weather three times per week, for about 30 minutes each, to get an inch of water on your lawn.

Moreover, it can be easier if you use a sprinkler system to water a lawn in hot weather – but if you don’t have one, the next best thing is an oscillating sprinkler to water your lawn.

As an aside, if you’re looking for a sprinkler for your lawn, we highly recommend this oscillating sprinkler. The ease of use and range that this sprinkler has is just incredible. Plus, it has a built-in timer, so it’ll automatically shut off when set to a particular time.

A typical lawn sprinkler zone produces about 0.27 to 0.30 inches of water per hour.

When it’s extremely hot, the average amount of moisture evaporating from the soil is about 0.25 to 0.35 inches per day. Meaning, your lawn will only get about 50% of the water.

But sometimes, this won’t be appropriate for particular lawns. You can experiment to measure how long you should keep your sprinklers open to water a lawn in hot weather.

When Should I Stop Watering My Lawn in Hot Weather?

​It is recommendable to use a rain gauge to measure whether you’ve achieved the ideal amount of water.

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But if you don’t have one, you can place an empty can on your lawn. When you’ve filled up the can to your desired amount, it means you’ve supplied the necessary water.

Meanwhile, there are visual signs you can monitor when you water a lawn in hot weather.

For example, do you see green grass instead of brown, narrow ones? 

Then, your lawn is healthy, and you’ve watered it correctly despite the hot conditions. Even if you don’t have a sprinkler system, your lawn still needs to be watered – especially in hot weather.

With that said, your grass needs water. Worse case, you use a garden hose to water your lawn by hand.

If you’re looking for a garden hose, we suggest this retractable garden hose reel. It’s super easy to reel back in, and the hose itself is heavy-duty grade durable. It is on the pricey side, but it’s so worth the investment.

Another good way to check is to probe the soil using a screwdriver. You will know if your lawn gets a sufficient amount of water each week when you can easily submerge the probe into the soil.

If not, then you can ramp up your watering schedule.

Related post: When to Stop Watering Your Lawn in the Fall

What If I’ve Overwatered My Lawn in Hot Weather?

I understand that the hotter conditions may lead you to think that you have to boost up watering.

While this is true, you must remember that early morning is the best time to water a lawn in hot weather.

The ample time will allow your soil to soak up the water and give it a chance to let the roots take up water as well.

Thus, it would help if you didn’t worry about overwatering your lawn, not unless you meticulously water it three times a day, which is a big no-no.

Do Not Mow Grass Too Short When Watering Lawn in Hot Weather

Traditionally, you must not clip off more than a third of the length of your grass. It would help if you did not cut it often, too.

Furthermore, taller leaves protect the bottom part of the grass from burning due to the hot weather.

Additionally, tall grass slows down evaporation, which is helpful when you water a lawn in hot weather, especially in the early morning.

To Sum It Up…

Plants are like humans. They enjoy having a sufficient amount of water. The best time to water a lawn in hot weather is from dawn until the early morning hours or when the sun isn’t fully shining yet.

Remember to focus on your watering when the temperature is low and there’s not much wind.

Related post in lawn care: 5 Best Grub Killers For Your Lawn

References:

• Feehan, K. Avoid Overwatering Lawns & Landscapes. University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
• McAfee, J. Lawn Water Management. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.
• Fresenburg, B. Home Lawn Watering Guide. University of Missouri Extension, Division of Plant Sciences.