How Do I Prepare My Landscape for Summer?

For most of us, summer is the peak season for a beautiful landscape with flowers in bloom, shrubs lush with new growth, and lawns thriving after regeneration in spring. Many clients ask us how we ensure the landscapes we manage are primed for summer performance, and here are some key actions we, as landscape design consultants in Sonoma County, take for all of our clients to make the most of summer in Sonoma County.

How Often Should I Water My Landscaping in the Summer?

Irrigation for shrubs and perennials would include 6-9 cycles per week, lawns using 9-12 cycles per week, and trees approximately 4 cycles per week. This is assuming your shrubs, perennials, and trees are on drip irrigation and your lawn is using spray irrigation. We always want to apply irrigation during cooler parts of the day between sunset and sunrise if possible. You can conserve water like a pro with some simple water saving techniques.

Root System Depth

Shrubs and perennials have semi-shallow roots compared to trees, so they require more frequent watering as the top layer of soil dries out more quickly and deeper layers of soil where many tree roots are seeking water. Lawns have shallow root systems rarely reaching deeper than 6” so they require more frequent watering than others.

Preventing Run Off

When irrigation applies water to the soil, it reaches the point of run off, meaning water runs away from where it is applied and ends up wasted or used by weeds. Clearly this isn’t the goal, so we always program irrigation to run cycles that end before run off occurs. This happens much more quickly with sprinklers than it does with drip, so sprinkler cycles will be much shorter than drip.

Cycle and Soak

Often this means we use multiple cycles per day to make sure we apply the water required by the plants, but that when we do, it is absorbed by the soil that is occupied by the roots of the plants we are irrigating. This method of irrigation is often referred to as ‘cycle and soak’, where water is applied to increase the holding capacity of the soil, then given a chance to rest, then a second cycle starts about an hour or two after (sometimes more) to apply the rest of the water.

Watering Schedule Example

A sample schedule could look like this;

• Shrubs/Perennials
  • Monday, Wednesday, Friday
  • Start times at 4am, 6am (25 minutes per cycle)
• Lawns
  • Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
  • Start times at 3am, 4am, 5am (6 minutes per cycle)
• Trees
  • Tuesday, Saturday
  • Start times at 9pm,11pm (60 minutes per cycle)

How Should I Prepare Soil for Summer?

Mulching is one of the most important things to do to prepare soil for summer. Mulching increases water retention, reduces weeds, and feeds the soil. A mulch is any material that is laid over the soil surface and can include bark, compost, rock, or even materials such as rubber or polished glass.

Installing Mulch

Our preference is to use compost as mulch because it does far more for the health of the plants by feeding the soil important nutrients. Composting for your plants also contributes to the soil food web of fungi and bacteria that improve plant health, reduce pests and disease, and increase resilience to heat stress. Installing it in the fall in preparation for next summer is ideal because winter rains will wash nutrients deep into the soil and help build the soil food web.

Mulch Types

Bark mulch is also a great option and we recommend using natural bark that isn’t dyed or treated with chemicals. This ensures the bark can break down over time and feed the soil similarly to compost mulch. Natural bark mulches provide far more benefit to the landscape than a dyed bark will. Ideally select a bark with varying size and texture such as ‘Arbor Mulch’ as it will hold its place better than a uniform chip mulch during activities such as raking, blowing, or other landscape maintenance.

How Should I Prepare My Lawn for Summer?

Proper fertilization, mowing height, and irrigation is essential for healthy lawns in the summer. Be certain to fertilize your lawns in March and May before the peak summer heat arrives using an organic nitrogen dominant fertilizer for green growth, and potassium for root development which helps make lawn care easy.

Mowing Height Adjustments

When summer arrives, adjust your mower to approx. 3-3.5” height for cool-season grasses and approx 2-2.5” for warm season grasses. Most lawns in Sonoma County will be cool-season grasses and setting your mower higher allows the soil in your lawn to retain moisture as it isn’t as exposed to summer heat. Cutting too low in the summer results in brown patchy lawns that require excessive irrigation to look moderately healthy.

Watering Your Lawn

Consistent and efficient irrigation is a hallmark of a healthy summer lawn. Make sure your sprinklers are adjusted for head to head coverage, nozzles are all matching precipitation rates, and all sprinklers are operating correctly without cracks or breaks.

Prevent Run Off

Lastly, going back to ways to conserve water in your landscape, programming your controller for a schedule similar to what we outlined in the first section of this blog will ensure you aren’t over or underwatering your lawn. Turning the sprinklers on for hours at a time simply wastes water and drowns the roots, strategic watering prevents soil compaction and keeps your lawn vibrant and green.

How Should I Prune My Plants for Summer?

Most pruning should take place in the winter and spring to ensure a vibrant summer garden. Here are some basic tips:

Perennials

Perennials should be cut back around March after the threat of frost has passed and then allowed to grow to their full size over the summer months without additional pruning.

Shrubs

Shrubs should be pruned in the spring to a size that will allow their summer growth plenty of room to grow in without needing additional pruning.

Fruit Trees

Fruit trees benefit from winter pruning during dormancy and pruning during summer should be limited to thinning of fruit and branches to improve the harvest.

Pruning Pro Tips

Generally heavy pruning during summer should never take place unless there is a serious need for corrective action as exposing undergrowth often leads to stress and burning under the summer heat. Being ahead of the game by pruning well ahead of the summer months is the ideal way to ensure your garden thrives during the peak season.

Transform Your Summer with Inspired Landscapes

Looking for a landscape design consultant in Sonoma County? You can ensure your landscape reaches its full potential this summer with the expertise of Inspired Landscapes! From precision irrigation programming and soil preparation to mulching, lawn care, and seasonal pruning, we bring years of experience to create and maintain thriving, stunning outdoor spaces. Contact Inspired Landscapes today or give us a call at (707) 395-7474 to schedule a consultation and let us transform your outdoor space into a summer sanctuary you’ll love.