Man, it's a hot one!
July is a hot month. It starts off with Fireworks and continues through the month with trips to the lake to cool off, pool parties and vacations to places like… maybe Alaska? Keeping your landscape happy through the summer does seem like a daunting task, but with a little planning it can be a simple one!
First, make sure your sprinklers are working properly. With lawns, you should have head-to-head coverage with sprinklers and not arc-to-arc coverage.
Head-to-head coverage is the industry standard for irrigation design. It requires that the spray from one sprinkler reaches the base of the next adjacent sprinkler. In contrast, arc-to-arc coverage means the spray just barely touches the outer tips of the adjacent spray patterns. You can look on Google Earth at some parks and school lawns, and you will see these patterns easily.
See Head to head coverage here
Trees and shrubs have deeper roots than lawn and small perennials and should be watered slightly differently. Deeper water less often is the often-used phrase. When your sprinklers are watering a shrub or tree zone, you should either let it run longer or come back with a second pass (on a different station setting on the clock) so that more water can soak in deeper. Water in the morning rather than late afternoon or evening, since the plants and lawn can more quickly take up all the water they need for the heat of the day.
Mulch or top-dressing is always a good idea to use in your landscape. Aside from the fact that it will look nice, it will be a weed deterrent and be your best defense in keeping your roots cool and the soil moist through the heat of the summer. Apply 2-4” over the root zone, taking care to keep it at least 3” away from the trunk or crown of the plant.
Of course, if you need to add a little extra hand-water occasionally, take advantage of it and water yourself…or an unsuspecting spouse or family member!
