The UKLCA Guide To Lawn Watering

04 July 2025 (Last updated: 23 Jul 2025 15:23)

2025 brought us an unusually dry spring in the UK, in fact the Met Office marked it as the warmest and the sixth driest spring on record. By mid-may, UKLCA lawn care professionals were reporting that some lawns had already starting to take on that lovely honey colour that we usually associate with mid-summer.

For those of us who take great pride in their lawns, all of this begs the question, should you water your lawn to help it through a dry spell, or is it better to let Mother Nature 'do her thing”?

Here's what UKLCA members are advising..…

•   Established lawns generally cope well with dry conditions and quickly recover their colour after rainfall. If you prefer your lawn to look lush and verdant, and providing there are no water use restrictions in place, then go ahead and deploy the sprinklers.

•   Newly laid turf and recently seeded or overseeded lawns MUST be kept moist so that the plants can establish.

•   If you have applied granular lawn feed, double check the instructions regarding watering. Most proprietary lawn feeds must be watered in, whilst professional grade fertilisers can often wait for rain. Don't guess! always check!

•   If you do decide to water your lawn, avoid irrigating in the heat of the day - most of the moisture will be lost to evaporation. Instead, give the grass a good soaking either late evening or early morning.

•   Apply enough water so that it can sink deep into the soil to reach the roots.

•   Consider applying a wetting agent to maximise the effectiveness of your watering. (See below)

What are the signs that your lawn needs water?

Newly turfed or seeded lawns MUST be kept watered until the plants are well established. If a hosepipe ban seems imminent, it’s probably a good idea to delay creating, repairing or overseeding lawns but check first with your water authority to see if they make exceptions for new lawns.

It’s important to remember that established lawns are incredibly robust and rarely need watering…although careful irrigation will definitely help keep them looking greener for longer.

It’s normal for lawn grasses to take on a straw like appearance during a dry spell and they will soon turn green when the rains come. However, if you prefer your lawn to be as lush and verdant as possible - and provided there are no hosepipe bans in your area - here are a few signs that your lawn would appreciate a good drink.

Footprints….when plant cells are fully hydrated they very quickly bounce back into shape after being compressed - a bit like a water bed. However, if the plants are a little dehydrated, it will take a moment or two for them to recover their shape after being stepped upon. So a tell tale sign that your lawn would appreciate being watered is if you can still see your footprints a few minutes after you’ve walked across your lawn.

Wilting….Leaves that are floppy and inclined to lay flat on the ground are likely dehydrated and ready for a drink.

Colour and texture…..grasses in summer naturally conserve water by storing it in their roots. With minimal water in the leaves, it is more difficult for the plants to photosynthesise and so they temporarily lose their green colour and become dry and straw-like. With regular watering (or rain) the verdant colour and velvety texture will soon recover.

How to Minimise The Need For Lawn Irrigation

Water is a precious resource, and, unless you are lucky enough to have your own well, watering your lawn will incur a cost. Therefore it makes sense to be as water-efficient as possible when irrigating your lawn.

Start preparing for drought well in advance of summer by scarifying and aerating your lawn. This will ensure that any water landing on your lawn has got the best possible chance of seeping into the soil where the grass plants can access it via their roots.

If soil is very compacted, you may want to consider slit-tine aeration during in late spring or early summer. Talk to your lawn care professional about the suitability and timing of slit-tine aeration for your own lawn.

Ensure that your lawn is well nourished all year round. This helps develop the root system so that it can work as efficiently as possible.

Boost your lawn’s health with regular, professionally applied foliar treatments. These are the equivalent of our vitamins and minerals and help the plants become more resilient to heat and drought.

Raise the cutting bar on your mower. Longer grass shades the soil and reduces the risk of soil moisture being evaporated by the heat of the sun.

A Word About Wetting Agents

Wetting agents are a really useful tool for helping your lawn to cope with dry conditions and to recover quickly from drought. They work in a similar way to soap or washing up liquid by reducing surface tension. This prevents droplets from your sprinkler (or rain) from forming those little droplets that tend to just sit on the surface of leaves and soil.

Soil scientists have developed wetting agent so that they break down any waxy coatings on soil particles, thus allowing water to penetrate deeper and more efficiently. Once water is in the soil, wetting agents aid moisture retention.

These are great products. However, they should always be professionally applied and for best results they should be deployed well in advance of dry conditions. For UK lawns, that means springtime.

You’ll find a great video explaining the benefits of wetting agents in this article from Lawntech, one of our UKLCA members.

https://www.lawn-tech.co.uk/lawn-care-services/lawn-wetting-agent-treatments/

How To Water Your Lawn Effectively

Have you ever been travelling in a hot car, found a centimetre of water in your flask, drank it and felt as though you might as well not have bothered? That’s what it’s like for your lawn grasses if you don’t apply water effectively.

It’s not enough to give the grass a light sprinkling of water which does little more than settle the dust for an hour. Your lawn needs you to apply enough water to penetrate a good 5cm into the soil. If that sounds scary, wasteful or expensive - don’t worry. For most domestic lawns, a really good soaking with water once a week is far more efficient than a daily trickle.

Begin your watering routine by investing in a hosepipe and sprinkler that will reach to the farthest corners of your lawn. You may need to move the sprinkler around a couple of times, but that’s easier than trying to hydrate those hard to reach edges with a watering can.

Move anything that could slow the rate at which water penetrates the ground - paddling pools, picnic rugs, outdoor furniture etc

Think hard about the time of day you apply water. When the sun is at its hottest and highest, a good proportion of that precious wet stuff will evaporate before it even hits the ground. So irrigate your lawn in the late evening or very early morning if you can. For some gardeners, it’s worth investing in an automated timer so that your lawn can be watered overnight.

Learn how long it takes to apply enough water - it’s probably longer than you think. Many UKLCA members advise placing an empty tuna fish can (or something of equivalent size) in range of the sprinkler. When the can is full, you know you’ve applied 2.5cm (approx) of water to the lawn. Fill it twice to apply the recommended 5cm of water.

Consider using a wetting agent on your lawn. Wetting agents are commercial products that enable your soil to absorb and retain more water. They’re very effective but best applied by lawn care specialists who will be able to apply professional grade products at the optimum rate and time for your lawn.

Helping Your Lawn Recover From Drought

If your lawn should turn gold-coloured during a dry spell, there’s no need to panic. Your local lawn care specialist will be able to advise you on the best way to help the plants recover from drought stress. Depending on your soil type, lawn usage and local weather forecasts, recovery will likely involve a combination of seasonal feeds and treatments followed by aeration, scarification and overseeding, once the plants are growing vigourously.

If you have any questions at all about watering your grass, your UKLCA lawn care professional will be able to give you some personalised advise based on the condition of your lawn, the soil type in your garden and your own personal lawn care goals.

Visit the UKLCA website to find an independent lawn care professional near you.

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