Winter care instructions for your lawn
Watering: Your lawn will continue to require moisture all winter long. If there is no snow cover, you must water thoroughly every 4-5 weeks any area of the lawn that dries out. Please pay particular attention to:

1. Hills with a southern exposure
2. Areas regularly swept by winds
3. Areas subject to heat reflection from windows or light colored walls
4. The south side of evergreens (they will take available moisture from the soil)

Landscaping and Lawn Care Knowledge
How Much Are You Watering?
Fall and Winter Watering

One of the major causes of lawn failure in Colorado is desiccation from dry winter conditions such as wind and little precipitation.

Dry air and low soil moisture are fall and winter characteristics in many areas of Colorado. During extended periods, particularly October through February when there may be little or no snow cover, lawn grasses, trees and shrubs can be damaged if they do not receive supplemental water.

• In October, give the lawn about a half-inch of water per week.
• From November through January, grass should have about 1 inch every four to six weeks. Trees and shrubs should be deep-root watered about once a month.
• Between February 1st and mid-April, grass should receive about 1 inch every two weeks.
• From mid-April to mid-May, lawns need about three-quarters of an inch a week.
• Southern and western exposed areas (especially if they are sloped) are more susceptible to drying out and may need more frequent watering.

To determine how much water your sprinkler delivers in any period of time, simply place three coffee cans (or other cans with straight sides and a flat bottom) in a row from the sprinkler to the outer edge of its spray. Then turn on the water for any measured period of time - say half an hour.

When the water is turned off, measure the depth of water in each can with a ruler. With this information you can calculate how long to leave the sprinkler in one spot to deliver the desired amount of water. For example, if 1/4" of water is delivered in one half hour, you should leave the sprinkler in place for one hour to put 1/2" of water on your lawn.

Note: If you find that the can at the outer edge of the spray has less water than the other two, you can compensate by overlapping the sprinkler patterns when the sprinkler is moved.