Lawn Watering Guide for the Park Cities

Most lawns in this area are overwatered in spring and fall and underwatered in the heat of summer. Here is a simple guide for our clay soil.

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Six clear cups set out on a lawn for a sprinkler catch-can test, with a ruler in the grass and a sprinkler head behind

Know your soil

Much of Dallas County, including the Park Cities, sits on heavy Blackland Prairie clay. Clay holds a lot of water but takes it in slowly. If you water too fast, most of it runs off. If you water too often, roots stay shallow and the lawn struggles when summer heat arrives. Fewer, deeper waterings, split into short cycles, work best.

A screwdriver pushed into lawn soil to check how deep the water reached, with a spray head running behind it

Season by season

Season	What the lawn needs	Controller tip
Spring (Mar to May)	Less than you think. Spring rains often cover it.	Use the rain sensor. Water only when the top inch of soil is dry.
Summer (Jun to Sep)	The most water of the year, delivered deeply.	One or two watering days, with each zone split into two or three short cycles. Early morning.
Fall (Oct to Nov)	Taper down as it cools.	Lower run times every few weeks.
Winter (Dec to Feb)	Very little; turf is mostly dormant.	Off, or an occasional watering in long dry spells. Never when near freezing.

These are general starting points. Shade, slope, grass type and sprinkler type all change the right amount. We will set your controller for your yard.

Cycle and soak

Instead of running a spray zone for 15 minutes straight, run it for 5 minutes three times with a 30 to 60 minute break between. Same amount of water, but it soaks in. Most controllers can do this automatically.

Water running off a saturated lawn over the curb and down the street gutter while a spray head keeps running

Shade vs. sun

A lawn under big trees needs much less water than a lawn in full sun. If both are on the same zone, one of them is getting the wrong amount. Splitting zones, or at least adjusting nozzles, helps both.

A shaded lawn under the spreading limbs of an old live oak in front of a brick house, a spray head running in the shade

Watering rules

City	Sprinkler days	No sprinklers
Dallas (Preston Hollow, Bluffview, Greenway Parks, Devonshire, M Streets)	Even address: Sun and Thu. Odd: Wed and Sat. Never Mon, Tue or Fri.	10 a.m. to 6 p.m., all year
University Park	Even: Sun and Thu. Odd: Wed and Sat.	10 a.m. to 6 p.m., April 1 to October 31
Highland Park	Even: Sun and Thu. Odd: Sat and Wed.	10 a.m. to 6 p.m., April 1 to October 31

In all three, hand watering and soaker hoses are allowed outside those limits, and Dallas and University Park also exempt drip. Rules change, so check the source: Dallas, University Park, Highland Park. Our watering rules article covers the details, including variances for new sod.

Signs you are watering wrong

Mushrooms, moss or soggy turf: too much water or poor drainage
Footprints that stay pressed down, gray-blue tint: too little water
Water running down the curb: too fast, wrong nozzles or a leak
Dry rings around heads: coverage problem, not a schedule problem

Questions people ask us

Is it better to water in the morning?

Yes. Early morning has less wind and evaporation, and the grass dries during the day, which helps prevent disease.

How do I know if I watered enough?

Push a screwdriver into the soil a few hours after watering. If it goes in easily about 4 to 6 inches, that is about right.

Worth reading before you call

Brown Spots in the Lawn: Is It the Sprinklers or Something Else?Is a brown spot in St. Augustine a sprinkler problem, too much water, chinch bugs, large patch or take-all root rot? Simple checks to…
Rain and Freeze Sensors: What They Do and What the Rules RequireHow sprinkler rain and freeze sensors work, why Dallas requires them, what Texas and University Park rules say, and how to test yours.

Sprinkler problem? Call and talk to a person.

Tell us what you are seeing: a wet spot, a dead zone, a geyser, a controller that will not turn on. We will tell you what it likely is and set a visit.