Most of you are coming here because we just installed a new lawn for you, and you are checking to see what the watering schedule is supposed to be. Lawn Maintenance in Los Angeles near you.
Summer – is it going to be 100 degrees today ? Are the Santa Anna winds blowing and drying out your Lawn ? Water your lawn, follow the instructions.
Fall, Winter, Spring – is it going to rain today ? If it’s going to rain today, you don’t need to water your grass today.
Watering Instructions and Lawn Care in Los Angeles
Water 3 times a day (4am, 8am, 4pm) *15 minutes each time.
Water 2 times a day (6am, 4pm) *15 minutes each time.
Water 1 time per day (6am) *15 minutes each time.
Normal Watering Schedule.
Per Los Angeles County watering instructions. Not more than 15 minutes each zone. Not between the hours of 9am through 4pm. We recommend 6am as the best time of day to begin watering any plant.
If you have an even numbered street address
If you have an odd numbered street address
15 minutes should be scaled back as soon as you get a lot of mushrooms. A couple of mushrooms is ok, in fact a couple of mushrooms is a good sign that we are watering enough, but if a lot of mushrooms are coming up we should scale back the 15 minutes to 10 minutes and see if the mushrooms stop coming up.
Scale back again to just 5 minutes if too many mushrooms are still coming up. When you get into a different weekly watering schedule where you are watering one time less per day for that week, go ahead and go back to the 15 minutes per watering and then scale back again if too many mushrooms come up
Fertilizing: Fertilize once with a 3-1-2 ratio (e.g. 21-7-14). | Fertilizing: None |
Watering: Water every 5-10 days, depending on the weather, to a soil depth of 4-6 inches. | Watering: As dormant grass, water to a soil depth of 8-10 inches once a month, or less if it rains. |
Mowing: Recommend regular mowing DO NOT mow or walk on frosted turf. | Mowing: None, dormant |
Dethatch/Aerify: None | Dethatch/Aerify: None |
Seeding: None | Seeding: None |
Sodding: Available Year Round | Sodding: None, dormant |
Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None | Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None |
Fertilizing: Fertilize once with a 3-1-2 ratio (e.g. 21-7-14). | Fertilizing: None |
Watering: Water every 5-10 days, depending on the weather, to a soil depth of 4-6 inches. | Watering: As dormant grass, water to a soil depth of 8-10 inches once a month, or less if it rains. |
Mowing: Recommend regular mowing DO NOT mow or walk on frosted turf. | Mowing: None, dormant |
Dethatch/Aerify: None | Dethatch/Aerify: None |
Seeding: None | Seeding: None |
Sodding: Available Year Round | Sodding: None, dormant |
Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None | Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None |
March 20th, 4:21 P.M. PST — the start of spring the spring equinox day and night are approximately 12 hours long and the Sun is at the midpoint of the sky. Our north pole tilts towards the Sun.
Fertilizing: Fertilize once with a 3-1-2 ratio (e.g. 21-7-14). | Fertilizing: None |
Watering: Deep water (8-10 inches) every 3-5 days. | Watering: As dormant grass, water to a soil depth of 8-10 inches once a month, or less if it rains. |
Mowing: Recommend regular mowing DO NOT mow or walk on frosted turf. | Mowing: None, dormant |
Dethatch/Aerify: None | Dethatch/Aerify: None |
Seeding: None | Seeding: None |
Sodding: Available Year Round | Sodding: None, dormant |
Pre-Emergent Weed Control: To control spring and early summer weeds, apply one time March 1-15 in. Follow label directions. | Pre-Emergent Weed Control: To control spring and early summer weeds, apply one time March 1-15. Follow label directions. |
Tall Fescue | St Augustine/Bermuda |
Fertilizing: Fertilize once with a 3-1-2 ratio (e.g. 21-7-14) | Fertilizing: Fertilize once with a 3-1-2 ratio (e.g. 21-7-14) |
Watering: Deep water (8-10 inches) every 3-5 days.. | Watering: Deep water (8-10 inches) every 5-7 days |
Mowing: Maintain at 1 1/2 inch or greater to help with drought tolerance in warm weather. | Mowing: Mow at minimum recommended height to encourage turf density. |
Dethatch/Aerify: None | Dethatch / Aerify: None |
Seeding: None | Seeding: None |
Sodding: Available Year Round | Sodding: Bermuda Sod and St. Augustine Sod available |
Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None | Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None |
Tall Fescue | St Augustine/Bermuda |
Fertilizing: Fertilize once with a 3-1-2 ratio (e.g. 21-7-14) | Fertilizing: Fertilize once with a 3-1-2 ratio (e.g. 21-7-14) |
Watering: Deep water (8-10 inches) every 3-5 days.. | Watering: Deep water (8-10 inches) every 3-5 days |
Mowing: Maintain at 1/2 inch with a reel mower and 3/4 inch with a rotary mower until the over seed (OSR) dies. | Mowing: Mow progressively higher to recommended height |
Dethatch/Aerify: After May 15 | Dethatch / Aerify: After May 15 |
Seeding: Common or turf type bermuda grass | Seeding: Common or turf type bermudagrass |
Sodding: Non-overseeded sod available (hybrid bermuda and BOBsod) | Sodding: Non-overseeded sod available (hybrid bermuda and BOBsod) |
Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None | Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None |
June 21, 11:16 A.M. PST–the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, the Sun is at its most northern point in the sky. After this date, the days start getting shorter.
Tall Fescue | St Augustine/Bermuda |
Fertilizing: Fertilize once with a 3-1-2 ratio (e.g. 21-7-14) | Fertilizing: Fertilize once with a 3-1-2 ratio (e.g. 21-7-14) |
Watering: When it’s 90′ F and above, deep water every 2-3 days | Watering: When it’s 90’F and above, deep water every 2-3 days |
Mowing: Mow at recommended height. | Mowing: Mow at recommended height. |
Dethatch/Aerify: Remove thatch when more than 1/2 inch thick. Aerify as needed during the first four weeks of summer. | Dethatch / Aerify: Remove thatch when more than 1/2 inch thick. Verify as needed during the first four weeks of summer. |
Seeding: Common or turf type bermuda grass | Seeding: Common or turf type bermuda grass |
Sodding: Non-overseeded sod available (hybrid bermuda, BOBsod, and St. Augustine) | Sodding: Non-overseeded sod available (hybrid bermuda, BOBsod, and St. Augustine) |
Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None | Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None |
Tall Fescue | St Augustine/Bermuda |
Fertilizing: Fertilize once with a 3-1-2 ratio (e.g. 21-7-14) | Fertilizing: Fertilize once with a 3-1-2 ratio (e.g. 21-7-14) |
Watering: When it’s 90′ F and above, deep water every 2-3 days, reduce lawn watering when it rains. | Watering: When it’s 90′ F and above, deep water every 2-3 days, reduce lawn watering when it rains. |
Mowing: Mow at maximum recommended height to enhance stress tolerance. | Mowing: Mow at maximum recommended height to enhance stress tolerance. |
Dethatch/Aerify: Remove thatch when more than 1/2 inch thick. Aerify as needed during the first four weeks of summer. | Dethatch/Aerify: Remove thatch when more than 1/2 inch thick. Aerify as needed during the first four weeks of summer. |
Seeding: Common or turf type bermudagrass | Seeding: Common or turf type bermudagrass |
Sodding: Non-overseeded sod available (hybrid bermuda and BOBsod, ans St. Augustine) | Sodding: Non-overseeded sod available (hybrid bermuda and BOBsod, ans St. Augustine) |
Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None Soil Amendment: Apply gypsum. Follow label directions | Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None Soil Amendment: Apply gypsum. Follow label directions |
Tall Fescue | St Augustine/Bermuda |
Fertilizing: Fertilize once with a 3-1-2 ratio (e.g. 21-7-14) | Fertilizing: Fertilize once with a 3-1-2 ratio (e.g. 21-7-14) |
Watering: When it’s 90′ F and above, deep water every 2-3 days, reduce lawn watering when it rains. | Watering: When it’s 90′ F and above, deep water every 2-3 days, reduce lawn watering when it rains. |
Mowing: Mow at maximum recommended height to enhance stress tolerance. | Mowing: Mow at maximum recommended height to enhance stress tolerance. |
Dethatch/Aerify: No later than August 15. | Dethatch/Aerify: No later than August 15. |
Seeding: Common or turf type bermudagrass. DO NOT plant after August 31. | Seeding: Common or turf type bermudagrass. DO NOT plant after August 31. |
Sodding: Non-overseeded sod available (hybrid bermuda, BOBsod, and St. Augustine) | Sodding: Non-overseeded sod available (hybrid bermuda, BOBsod, and St. Augustine) |
Pre-Emergent Weed Control: If you’re NOT going to overseed this fall, to control winter annual weeds apply once August 25-September 15 in Phoenix; September 1-21 in Tucson. | Pre-Emergent Weed Control: If you’re NOT going to overseed this fall, to control winter annual weeds apply once August 25-September 15 in Phoenix; September 1-21 in Tucson. |
September 23, 2:05 A.M. PST–Fall begins at the autumn equinox. Day and night are about 12 hours long and the Sun is at the midpoint in the sky. The north pole moves away from the Sun.
Tall Fescue | St Augustine/Bermuda |
Fertilizing: Do not fertilize 4-6 weeks before overseeding | Fertilizing: Fertilize once with a 3-1-2 ratio (e.g. 21-7-14) only if you DO NOT intend to overseed |
Watering: When it’s 90′ F and above, deep water every 2-3 days; below 90′ F, water every 3-5 days (DO NOT shut the water off completely- it could hurt the bermuda grass). | Watering: When it’s 90′ F and above, deep water every 2-3 days; below 90′ F, water every 3-5 days |
Mowing: Mow at maximum recommended height to enhance stress tolerance. If temperatures drop below 100′ F begin to lower mowing height in preparation for overseeding (OSR). | Mowing: Mow at maximum recommended height to enhance stress tolerance. |
Dethatch/Aerify: None | Dethatch/Aerify: None |
Seeding: None | Seeding: None |
Sodding: Non-overseeded sod available (hybrid bermuda, BOBsod, and St. Augustine) | Sodding: Non-overseeded sod available (hybrid bermuda, BOBsod, and St. Augustine) |
Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None | Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None |
Tall Fescue | St Augustine/Bermuda |
Fertilizing: Do not fertilize 4-6 weeks before overseeding. Do not fertilize OSR until after 1st mowing. | Fertilizing: Fertilize once with a 3-1-2 ratio (e.g. 21-7-14) |
Watering: After overseeding, 3-4 times daily for 5-10 minutes to keep seeds damp until germination. | Watering: Deep water (8-10 inches) every 3-7 days |
Mowing: Mow bermuda progressively (over 2-3 weeks) lower to 1/2 inch with a reel mower, 3/4 inch with a rotary mower, to prepare for overseeding. When OSR is 2 inches, barely mow the ryegrass, no lower than 1 1/2 inches. Once established (when each plant has 3 to 4 blades), can lower height. | Mowing: If not dormant, mow at maximum recommended height to enhance stress tolerance. |
Dethatch/Aerify: Before overseeding, lightly dethatch only if necessary to ensure rye seed has soil contact. | Dethatch/Aerify: None |
Seeding: When nighttime temperatures are below 65′ or it’s less than 78′ 83′ daytime, overseed with rye for winter color and protect dormant bermuda. | Seeding: None |
Sodding: Non-overseeded sod available (hybrid bermuda and BOBsod) | Sodding: Non-overseeded sod available (hybrid bermuda and BOBsod) |
Pre-Emergent Weed Control: After third mowing to control winter annual weeds apply once by November 30. | Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None |
Tall Fescue | St Augustine/Bermuda |
Fertilizing: Do not fertilize OSR until after 1st mowing Watering: After OSR is established, water every 3-10 days to a soil depth of 4-6 inches | Fertilizing: None |
Watering: None | Watering: Prior to grass going dormant, water every 5-10 days. Once grass goes dormant, water to a soil depth of 8-10 inches once a month, or less if it rains. |
Mowing: When OSR is 2 inches, barely mow the ryegrass, no lower than 1 1/2 inches. Once established (when each plant has 3 to 4 blades), can lower height. | Mowing: None |
Dethatch/Aerify: None | Dethatch/Aerify: None |
Seeding: When nighttime temperatures are below 65′ or it’s less than 78′-83′ daytime, overseed with rye for winter color and to protect dormant bermuda. Overseeding should be completed no later than November 15. | Seeding: None |
Sodding: Overseeded sod (OSR) available (hybrid bermuda and BOBsod) | Sodding: None |
Pre-Emergent Weed Control: After third mowing to control winter annual weeds apply once by November 30. | Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None |
Tip: After the last cut on Bermuda or St. Augustine is a good time to have the mower blades sharpened for the first cut of spring
Tall Fescue | St Augustine/Bermuda |
Fertilizing: Fertilize once with a 3-1-2 ratio (e.g. 21-7-14) | Fertilizing: None |
Watering: After OSR is established, water every 4-14 days, to a soil depth of 4-6 inches | Watering: As dormant grass, water to a soil depth of 8-10 inches once a month, or less if it rains. |
Mowing: After OSR is established (when each plant has 3 to 4 blades), recommend lower mowing height | Mowing: None, dormant |
Dethatch/Aerify: None | Dethatch/Aerify: None |
Seeding: None | Seeding: None |
Sodding: Overseeded sod (OSR) available (hybrid bermuda and BOBsod) | Sodding: None |
Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None | Pre-Emergent Weed Control: None |