Rain, rain, go away! That chant may have been going through your head quite a bit this summer. A usual summer brings us 20-30 minute downpours every afternoon. The all-day rains we received all summer for weeks on end are atypical.
What steps should we take to help our landscapes deal with this over-abundance of liquid sunshine? The first thing to do is shut off your irrigation system! Really, nature is doing a fine job! We don’t need to add to it. A Floratam lawn needs ½ inch of water a week. Bahiagrass lawns don’t need supplemental irrigation once established. At the very least, verify that you have a working rain sensor. They are designed to temporarily shut down the irrigation system, not allowing it to turn on if there has been plenty of rain. How do you know if your rain sensor is working? During one of our all day rain events, step out and try to turn your system on for a minute. It shouldn’t come on. Make sure the rain sensor hasn’t been bypassed in your system. As I said earlier, sometimes the easiest thing to do is to just turn your irrigation system off for now.
Even if you don’t have a supplemental irrigation system, your landscape may exhibit symptoms of stress due to all of the rain we’ve been getting. Fungal diseases may pop up in your lawn. Gray leaf spot, Pythium root rot and Take-all root rot are three common diseases we see in lawns blessed with too much water. If your lawn starts looking sickly, the best thing to do is to take a sample to the County Extension Office at 1653 Blaise Dr. in Brooksville. Don’t do anything (fertilize, use pesticides, etc.) until you get their advice. Give a Master Gardener a call at 352-754-4433.
The best thing you can do for your lawn is to minimize stress. Most of us are not used to holistic approaches, and want a chemical that will fix things. It’s how we have been trained. We need to overcome that thought process and work on doing everything we can before we “spray” something!
Cultural practices to mitigate problems from over-watering include:
- Floratam lawns – Go back to your once-per-week ½ inch watering schedule if the rains have ceased, and if that is what your lawn is accustomed to. Do not water more than that.
- Bahiagrass lawns – These lawns don’t need supplemental irrigation. They may turn brown due to cold, dry or wet conditions. They are pretty resilient.
- Mow high! Adjust your lawn mower blade as high as it goes. St Augustine/ Floratam lawns as well as Bahiagrass lawns should be mowed no lower than 4 inches. The lawn is already stressed. Don’t remove more than 1/3 of the blade at a time. Make sure your mower blades are sharp. Dull blades tear the grass blades, raising the potential for pathogens to enter.
- For a little boost, a foliar spray with manganese sulfate may help your lawn recover. Do not apply when a heavy rain is expected. The damaged roots can’t take up large amounts of nitrogen right now. A light application of slow release fertilizer, with equal amounts of nitrogen and potassium (the N and the K on the fertilizer bag) may encourage healing. Don’t go overboard. Forcing the lawn to grow more will only add undue stress.
- Avoid weed and feed products. In general, the combo-products don’t work in Florida’s climate, and throwing them on an ailing lawn may hasten the untimely end of your lawn.
- Don’t treat for insects until you determine you have an insect problem! Seeing bugs is not an indication of a bug problem. They could be good guys keeping things in control. Diagnose before you treat.
- Consider reducing your turf areas. Lawns are high maintenance. Expanding your landscape beds out to cover more ground will reduce the time, money, energy and natural resources you spend on a lawn. Utilize ground covers in deep shade or other areas where turf struggles.
Following these guidelines year round will help your lawn deal with whatever stressors come along.