With different types of lawns and different conditions around the country, there is no definitive advice on how often you should water your lawn.

However, there are some broad guidelines about watering that can be followed to best benefit your little (or large) patch of green.

Frequency and duration of watering will primarily depend on conditions as they change throughout the year.

It may seem to fly in the face of logic, but it is actually poor practice to water your lawn every day, even for a short period.

Frequent watering encourages shallow root growth, which means that when hot weather hits, or the lawn doesn’t get that daily watering, the root system dries out. 

This creates heat stress that can send the lawn into shock or kill it off altogether.

Watering daily also means there is water sitting close to the surface of the grass all the time. This water will be lost through evaporation on hotter days and it won’t get to the lawn.

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Longer sessions of watering every day means a lot of the water goes to waste as it returns to the water table.

Some soil types even hold the water near the surface, making the grass weak.

The key to good lawn maintenance is to water deeply and follow a routine.

When you water your lawn deeply, the roots of the grass will follow the water deeper into the ground.

This allows the grass to stand up better to heat stress in extreme weather, with the roots less likely to dry out.

Evaporation is also reduced because the water sits deeper in the soil for longer.

Depending on where you live and the soil type, the amount of water required for this type of deep watering can vary, along with how long to water.

It can be a case of trial and error to work out the duration of watering for individual lawns.

Take the time to monitor your lawn’s health and adjust water times until you get the best result.

How often you water is again dependent on the time of year and where you live.

There is little need to water in winter, but more regular watering is required in spring and autumn, while summer requires the most frequent watering.

However, that doesn’t mean every day. Best bet is to aim for one watering in the morning, twice a week.