Must-Know Lawn Watering Advice From HGTV's Property Brothers

There are quite a few ways to enhance your home's curb appeal and make it stand out on your neighborhood block. Adding flowering trees to frame and soften your property edges or incorporating tidy, trimmed evergreen shrubs, for instance, can bring color and structure. In fact, in a Thumbtack and Nextdoor survey, 57% of homeowners say a beautiful exterior improves a home's value by at least $20,000. What do they say is one of the best improvements for amplifying your home's exterior charm? A well-kept lawn. And HGTV's Property Brothers have some expert watering tips, from Season 3 Episode 9 of "Celebrity IOU," to ensure your lawn stays in tiptop shape all season long.

Since improving a lawn is an outdoor update that adds serious value to your home, you definitely don't want to mess up something as simple as properly watering it. Without giving it much thought, you might easily fall into common watering pitfalls, such as giving your lawn too little or too much water or watering at the wrong time of day or for the wrong duration. And while a mistake here or there may not immediately ruin your lawn, continually using the wrong watering methods over time can create bigger problems, such as disease, patchiness, compaction, and an increase in stress that can lead to insect infestations. In general, the mistakes you can make are many of the same mistakes people make when watering their gardens.

Correct lawn watering hinges on three key factors: timing, duration, and frequency. Mastering these basics can ensure you're doing it right each and every time. The first question to answer then, is when? The ideal time to water a lawn is during early morning hours before 10 a.m. because the water is least likely to evaporate in the midday sun before getting down to the plant's roots where it's needed most. Obviously, if you're not an early riser, this can be a challenge. That's why Drew and Jonathan Scott suggest installing an irrigation system that you can schedule to run at the right time. In "Celebrity IOU," the duo gets down to work helping actor Terry Crews revive the dry California lawn of Frank Bustos, Crews' friend and driver. As they point out, the best type of irrigation system will have a smart controller that allows you to program waterings, pressure-regulating spray heads that deliver water evenly, and rain sensors that ensure the system automatically shuts off if Mother Nature is already delivering enough H₂O.

Other important factors an irrigation system helps manage include how much water is applied during each session and how often your lawn receives moisture. The goal is to water long enough during one session to reach a nice, deep soak — typically 45 to 60 minutes. You should only have to do this every few days; watering everyday is a lawncare myth you can stop believing. Your ultimate target is 1 to 2 inches of water weekly, including any rainfall. Remember to adjust your irrigation schedule during hot, dry summer months and reevaluate and adjust again in fall when temperatures cool back down.