This is the complete guide to watering your lawn in the UK. If you’re wondering:

  • What is the best time to water my lawn?
  • How often should I water my lawn?
  • How long should I water my lawn?
  • How do I tell if my lawn has been watered enough?

Or even just want to find the best, most-efficient way to water your lawn, then this is the guide for you.

Let’s get started.

Best Time to Water Your Lawn in the UK

graphic showing the best time to water your lawn in the UK

The best time to water your lawn is between the hours of 06:00 am and 10:00 am. Anything just before or after midday will evaporate due to higher temperatures. You should also avoid watering your lawn in the evening and at night. The lower temperatures may lead to the water freezing and you may also develop diseases due to stagnant water drops on blades of grass.

How Often to Water Your Lawn in the UK

graphic showing you how often to water your lawn per week

The average UK lawn needs to be watered 2 to 3 times a week. During spring, winter and autumn this will happen naturally due to frequent rain showers. However, during the summer, and particularly when heatwaves arrive, you should try to meet and continue this schedule.

Do not water your garden daily. Watering daily will lead to a shallow root system, which will lead to extensive lawn damage in the future as the grass becomes less resistant to heat.

You should also keep an eye out for your grass starting to turn a blueish, grey colour. If this starts to happen, then your grass is dehydrated and will need to be watered immediately.

How Long to Water Your Lawn

OK, so this is the important part, how do you tell if your lawn has been watered enough.

Well, first you can eyeball it. If your grass looks green, healthy and vibrant, and you’ve not been underwatering it, then it probably is.

If you’re looking for a better test, you can try the screwdriver method. Take an average 6-inch screwdriver and try to push it into the ground. If your soil is healthy, then you should be able to push it in fairly easily.

If it’s hard to crack the initial surface or you struggle to get the screwdriver all the way in without exerting effort, then you probably need to add more water.

Try this in multiple different locations around your lawn to get an idea of your whole garden health.

Finally, you should also keep an eye out for overwatering your lawn. If mushrooms start to pop up, then you’ve been feeding your lawn far too much water and need to rein it back in.

Adapt your watering over time to find the ideal amount for your garden.

Best Way to Water Your Lawn

Watering your lawn can be energy-intensive, backbreaking work. Lugging that watering can around your garden three times is tough work, and we wouldn’t blame you if you just never found the time or effort to get it done. So, how can you make watering your lawn far easier and potentially even fun? Here are our tips.

1. Install a Water Butt

graphic showing a simple picture of a water butt

Not only is a water butt a must-have when the hosepipe bans arrive, but they also make transporting water around your garden far easier. Simply install the butt under a downspout running from your garage or garden shed, and you won’t have to worry about trekking back and forth from the kitchen with a watering can.

2. Purchase a Water Butt Pump

graphic showing how to place a water butt pump in a water butt

If you don’t have a water butt pump, then you need one ASAP. The pump is hermetically sealed, meaning it can drop straight down into your water butt and work underwater. From there, you have a long hose which can be used to spray water around your garden by hand. Alternatively, you could also attach the pump to the sprinkler system…

3. Attach a Sprinkler System

Home irrigation doesn’t need to be expensive. Simply attach a cheap sprinkler system to your water butt pump and leave it to run. This is by the far the easiest way to water your garden and can even be left to water your lawn while you enjoy a morning brew with the newspaper. Who knew watering the garden could be fun!

Free Advice

If you’re struggling for advice regarding watering your lawn, speak to one of our experts on 0800 112 3134 or 0333 577 3134. We’re open Monday to Friday 07:00 - 17:30 and Saturday 08:30 - 12:30.