April Showers for Florida © Teresa Watkins
Apr 4, 2005
The cheery spring adage "April showers bring May flowers" is one that every bored child groans at as their mother explains calmly why they cannot go out and play -it's raining. Not so in April in Florida.
Florida's springtide is usually our dry time of the year. Florida rainfall amounts during April average two inches, increasing to an ample four inches in May, with an overabundance of seven inches or more rain in June and July. April is a good time of year for Florida homeowners to wean lawns and shrubbery from the heavy irrigation misperceptions and encourage deeper, healthier root systems. A healthier root system on ornamental shrubs, trees, and lawns will mean less insect problems and less disease problems. With cooler temperatures and lower humidity in April, plant evapotranspiration is less and the plants require less water. When irrigation is applied unnecessarily, the lawns, plants, and trees become dependent on the extra water. St. Augustine lawns only need one inch of water a week during the summertime. What happens to over irrigated landscapes when they are not watered? Wilting leaves, color fading and stress occurs. It will be very susceptible to dying if it doesn't have the water it has been forced to use. In spring, the grass needs that one inch of water every seven to ten days so it is a good time of year to get the grass to put deeper roots down. Landscapes that are over watered are expensive (higher water bills, more maintenance issues), more susceptible to weeds, fungal problems, insects, and more rapid waste of our precious potable water supply. Springtime is a great time to establish new lawns . When establishing a newly sodded St. Augustinegrass lawn in April, apply ½" to ¾" once a day either morning before 10:00am or evening after 4:00pm for the first week, if you don't get rain . The second week, apply the same amount once every two days. The third week, you can strengthen your grass roots by lengthening the time between waterings and irrigate every three days. After the third week, you are on the normal summertime scheduling of every three to four days, or twice a week watering, if you don't get rain.. Bahiagrass sodded lawns can follow the same recommendations as St. Augustinegrass but need less watering once established. If you are seeding rather sodding your Bahiagrass, then watering on a regular basis will be fine. Bahiagrass seed will germinate without additional watering and when established is very drought tolerant.
Go To Page:
1
2
The copyright of the article April Showers for Florida in Florida Gardens is owned by . Permission to republish April Showers for Florida in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
