Attention, Central Texas residents: If you are watering your grass every day or, even worse, every day during the dead heat, you are wasting water and harming your grass, trees and plants.

As the temperature rises during the summer heat, many people will go to great lengths to save their withering lawns and vegetable gardens. But local experts say the health of lawns, trees and gardens depend in part on when and how you water. They offered some pointers to keep your grass green without wasting precious water.

Cody Cox, 20, leaps over Paul Whitman (left), 20, and Dustin Ivy, 16, into the Brazos River near downtown Waco. The river water may have taken a little of the edge off Thursday's high of 105 degrees. (Jerry Larson photo)

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THE HEAT GOES ON

Waco tied a record for high temperature Thursday, rising to 105 degrees at 2:59 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. This comes a day after the June 24th record was broken by two degrees with a high temperature of 106.

And guess what? The NWS says the high will continue to be at least 104 degrees for the next two days, before dropping to the upper 90s.

With temperatures soaring, TXU Energy is accelerating its summer moratorium on disconnects, effective immediately. The company is urging the elderly, low income and ill/disabled to call (800) 242-9113 to get help so they will not be disconnected, TXU officials said. An earlier announcement of this program had a July 1 start date.

TXU officials gave the following tips to help stay safe in the high heat:

• Do not turn off the air conditioner

• Wear loose-fitting clothing

• Drink lots of water

• Use ceiling fans

• Close shades and windows during the day

• Clean AC filters

• Use the “auto fan” setting

Lawn care

How often?

“Twice a week, sometimes three times a week,” says Green Life Nursery landscape designer Carla Garcia. “When you do water, water less frequently, but for a longer period of time. You want that water to get down deep. If you water every day for a short period of time, those roots will be near the surface and will dry out from the heat faster.”

“Watering twice a week is better than watering every day,” said McLennan County Extension Agent Shane McLellan. “Watering every day, you lose a lot of water to evaporation, it doesn’t get into the ground good. And a lot of those people who are watering every day, you’re just going to hurt your roots. . . . It’s harder on the plant and it’ll be stressed.”

What time of day?

“Very early in the morning is the best time,” McLellan said. “Four to six in the morning is the very best time because the grass and the ground will dry out during the day, and you won’t have any fungal problems.”

“Any plants, you want to avoid watering between 10 (a.m.) and 6 (p.m.),” Garcia said. “The pores are closed up, and they won’t accept water anyway because they’re conserving moisture at that time. It’s like they’ve got their mouths closed and won’t accept any water. . . . You definitely don’t want to water during the day. You’re just wasting your water.”

Why not at night?

“Especially with your lawn, you want to avoid watering at night, with all the fungal problems we have out here,” Garcia said.

“If you water in the morning, the grass and the ground will dry out during the day, and you won’t have any fungal problems,” McLellan said.

How much water is enough?

“At this time, I think it’s best to put at least a half-inch of water on your yard,” said Steve Sanders of Sanders Lawn and Landscape. “Put a mayonnaise lid out in your yard, and when it’s full, you know you’ve got about a half-inch soaking down into your yard.”

Trees

“Around the trees, they definitely need a good, deep soaking at least once a week,” McLellan said. “A deep, good, slow watering is the best and not just around the trunk, but around the whole drip line (the width of the branches). Put a coffee can or old tuna can out there, and once you’ve got about an inch of water, it’s time to move.”

Flowers

“A lot of times, the plants will tell you,” Garcia said. “If plants are wilting, the edges are curling up or if you see brown margins on the leaves, those are all signs of moisture stress. . . . The best way to (water a garden) is to keep it evenly moist. You don’t want to let it get too dry, but you don’t want it too wet, either.”

“Give them a long soaking a couple times a week,” McLellan said of gardens. “You need to look at your plants and look for signs of stress. If you see stress symptoms, then you need to water it slow. Let the water just trickle in there, and water it good and deep.”

Potted plants

“One good way to tell is a real basic finger test,” Garcia said. “Is it wet or bone dry or just damp? That’ll give you a really good indication of what you need to do. . . . If you have potted plants, more than likely you’re going to need to water them daily.”

twoods@wacotrib.com

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