As a homeowner, you want your landscaping to look great at all times. And you go to great lengths to keep it looking its best. You stay on top of lawn maintenance and carefully care for your plants throughout the growing season. Believe it or not, those good intentions can end up hurting your landscaping if you’re not careful. Before you call your Denver sprinkler repair experts for your pre-summer system tune-up, take a look at these myths and give your landscaping the best care it deserves.

Watering in the Evening or Early Morning Means Your Plants Use Less Water
You probably know that watering in the evening and early morning is better for your plants and you might even have noticed a decrease in your water bill. But that’s not because your plants are using less water. In fact, they’re using the same amount they would if you watered during the day. The difference comes from the amount of water evaporating.

During the evening and early morning hours, the sun and the heat are less intense. This means less water evaporates as the sprinkler system runs. And the less water that evaporates, the more water reaches your plants. As a result, your sprinklers need less water to keep your plants properly hydrated, lowering your water bill. 

Mowing the Lawn Shorter Cuts Down on Maintenance
No one likes to lose a weekend morning to mowing the lawn. And that means it’s tempting to cut the grass shorter than normal. After all, the shorter the blades of grass are, the less often you’ll need to mow. While this will cut down on the number of times you have to mow the lawn, it won’t cut down on maintenance. 

Actually, it will increase the amount of maintenance your lawn needs throughout the growing season. Shorter blades dry out more quickly. When this happens, you’ll end up with a lawn that looks patchy at best and brown and dry at worst. You’ll have to spend extra hours getting the lawn back in shape if you want it to look nice. Spare yourself the frustration and leave your grass on the longer side. This will make it more resistant to heat and helps keep the soil and the roots damp and hydrated.

Fertilizing Fixes Brown Spots and Dying Patches
Each year, tons of homeowners fertilize their lawns as soon as they see the grass looking a bit dull. On the surface, this seems like a good idea. But it’s easy to overdo it. Remember, your lawn is resilient. It can often recover on its own when patches start underperforming.

And unless you’re incredibly familiar with your soil type, your lawns needs, and the type of fertilizer you have, it’s easy to overdo it. When you do, you’ll end up frying your lawn and changing the pH balance of the soil. Once you do, it can take a lot more work and repairs to fix the damage and restore your turf to its former growth patterns. 

Planting Has to Happen in Spring
When you think of planting new additions to your garden, you probably think the task has to happen during the spring. And if you miss the window, nothing will be able to get established in your garden. While there is some truth to this, you don’t have to restrict your planting activities to spring. 

There are many plants that can be added to your garden at any point during the growing season. You just need to choose ones that are already started. If you want to see any noticeable blooms and growth during the summer, planting from seeds or seedlings isn’t the best choice. Ask for advice at your local garden center if you’re looking to add more plants to your garden later in the season.

You Can’t Overdo Mulch
We’ve talked about mulch before. It’s a great way to protect your soil from erosion and add a pop of texture and color to your landscaping. But many homeowners end up spreading the much everywhere. 

Like it or not, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Mulch is heavy and blocks light from hitting the soil directly. This is part of what makes it excellent weed control. But the same principle means it’s possible to accidentally damage your plants. Use the minimum amount of mulch needed to protect your soil. This will help keep the plants you want to have growing well throughout the summer months. 

Using a Garden Hose Saves You Water
We get it…running sprinklers seems like it’s wasting water. After all, the spray covers a larger area than just the plants you want it to hit. This causes many homeowners to reach for a garden hose to water their lawn and landscaping. Why? Because when you’re in control of the water flow, you’ll use less water, right?

Wrong. Using a garden hose actually uses more water than the standard sprinkler system. Worse, it often leads you to overwater your plants, drowning their roots and removing nutrients from the soil. When in doubt, use your sprinklers and if you feel that your system is using more water than it should, get it tuned up.  

Sprinkler Systems Can’t Help Your Garden Beds
Sprinkler systems are most commonly used to water lawns. For many homeowners, this leads to the thought that their sprinklers won’t help their garden beds or other types of landscaping. In some yards, this may be true, but it’s not the case for most.

In fact, your sprinkler system probably reaches your decorative shrubs, garden beds, trees, and other landscaping elements that you’ve been tempted to water by hand. When in doubt, watch your sprinklers when they run. See where the water hits and make a note of it. If you have a part of your yard that you want covered, just give your installation team a call. They’ll be able to find a solution for your yard’s needs. 

Sprinklers are an important part of every home’s landscaping. But you have to keep them in good condition to see any benefit for your yard. Schedule a tune-up with our experts today and see the difference a well-maintained system can make in your landscape’s appearance.