Dont let your lawn and plants go thirsty

   It is a common belief in Florida that our lawns and plants go dormant in the colder months. While their growth appears to slow dramatically, they are still very much active. This is the time of year that the plants and turf focus their energy on their root systems. Instead of producing flowers, buds, or new top growth, most of their resources are directed to root growth.

    It's a common practice this time of year to turn off irrigation systems in the belief that the turf has gone dormant. This leads to weakend areas in the turf and obvious sparse growth in the spring. While your plant material does not require as much water as in the hot summer months, It's important that it does recieve a minimum amount during the cold, dry winter months. We reccomend cutting your watering schedule to 1 deep watering cycle once a week. Some systems have a "seasonal adjust" funtion. we dont suggest using this for winter irrigation as it only uniformly reduces watering times. This leads to mutilple "short" watering cylces which are not beneficial for root growth. We suggest just deleting 1 day. This allows the water to penetrate deep into the top layers of soil, and the roots to grow deeper in search of it. 

  It is also important not to over water as a cool wet climate is inducive to certian fungus. Also, keep a close on the weather. Watering right before or during freezing temps can do severe damage to the turf and other plant material. Its a good idea to adjust watering start times to late morning to avoid creating a winter wonderland of your yard.

 Irrigation companies tend to be a little less busy in the winter months, So now is the perfect tie to get your system checked out and overhauled for the coming growing season. Its also a perfect time for additions and repairs to take full advantage of the growing season to cover damage done to turf areas from digging.