The Pikes Peak Region can experience extended warm, dry periods during late summer. When the weather gets hot, lawns and landscape plants can wilt and turn brown.
How can you help them stay healthy until things cool down? Here are four tips.
- Water consistently. When back-to-school season arrives, it’s easy to stop watering too early, which can cause plants to dehydrate before winter arrives. Drought-stressed trees and shrubs are more vulnerable to branch dieback. Dehydrated lawns are more vulnerable to winterkill. To prevent damage, commit to watering consistently until mid-October. There’s no need to overwater, but watering regularly will help your plants go into dormancy in a healthy state rather than a stressed condition. If you winterize your sprinkler system early, water with a hose-end sprinkler periodically.
- Do a sprinkler check. Brown spots and wilting leaves are often caused by sprinkler system issues. Turn on your system to scout for leaks and broken, sunken or turned sprinkler heads and make any needed repairs. If you need major fixes, consider our irrigation rebates to see if upgrading to high-efficiency irrigation equipment might help.
- Hand water brown spots or stressed plants. Hand water flowers, bushes, or lawn brown spots if they need a little extra water to make it through an unusually hot and dry stretch. Rather than watering with your sprinklers more than three days per week, hand water troublesome areas on a day your sprinklers don’t water. Use a hose and watering wand with a shutoff valve. This combination can be a great way to water sensitive plants without violating the Water Wise Rules.
- Consider switching to heat-tolerant, water-wise plants. If your lawn and landscape plants show repeated heat stress, thinking about switching to landscape plants that thrive in hot, dry conditions. Many Colorado and Southwest US native plants can provide stunning beauty in harsh weather. Visit our Demonstration Gardens or plant database to gain ideas. Our recorded webinars can also be a great place to start exploring sustainable options.
Late summer is a great time to dial in smart watering practices. Paying attention now will ensure your lawn and landscape plants finish the growing season strong and healthy. For more water wise landscaping tips, visit csu.org or stop by the Conservation and Environmental Center, Monday through Friday from 9 to noon and 1 to 5 pm.