Best way to adjust for trees competing for water

There are several areas of my lawn that are boarded by trees. The grass in these areas requires more water due to the trees competing for the available water. Should I water more often, or water for longer durations?

Thanks!

Yes, you will need to water more often where there are trees. But don’t overdo it or you will encourage more surface roots. Mulch the trees in the beds with several inches of hardwood mulch. Give those trees a deep soaking to get things back in sync. I ran my MP Rotators for 4 hours in my back shrub and tree areas. It made a big difference in the soil moisture.

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If you are using Flexible Daily, you could probably up the crop coefficient for the grass in those zones. That would tell the system that those zones need watering more often.

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I have the same issue in my back yard. I set the crop coefficient up 0.1 and also the amount of sun from “some sun” to “lots of sun.” That seems to work for me.

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Hmmmm, crop coefficient on my app uses %. When you say 0.1, do you mean increasing it 10%?

Maybe your controller is an earlier model. I think maybe those had the crop coefficient in percentages. Perhaps someone from Rachio staff can clear that up for us. Mine adjusts the crop coefficient in decimal point increments. I’m guessing it’s probably the same as the percentage amount your seeing on your controller.

@bridavis and @dave97035, you are both right about crop coefficient settings! I just double checked, and the web app uses a decimal point, and the IOS app uses a percentage!!! @mckynzee, could you add making this be consistent to the to-do list?

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@Linn great catch. I was so confused.

Added to the To Do list :wink: :white_check_mark:

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