The effects of watering during high temperatures are highly debated here and there are quite a few resources showing why it doesn't hurt the lawn...some other folks will chime in with those links and articles I'm sure. I am in North Florida where we are seeing 105+ heat index right now. I water .5" at 5am every other day. Every day I run a 7 minute cycle on each zone at 1PM. There is actually a thermal video floating around of someone performing this practice "syringing" on a golf course green. This video shows that syringing has little to no effect in cooling the lawn down and shows that the grass temps are back to normal within 3-4 minutes after it. However, I see no negative effects as to watering a full cycle while its hot other than you will lose some of your water due to evaporation. IMO, the statement that watering while its hot will "burn" the lawn is not true. However it may be ineffective. I still do my syringing because it makes me feel good :lol: Someone once explained it like your body sweating to transfer heat and cool your body.

 

@Humbert810 Thanks for the response.

I was really wondering more in regards to fungal problems because of wet grass in warm nighttime conditions. I was under the impression that's the reason for watering early in the morning, so that the blades are completely dry by warm sunless nighttime conditions.

 

@Humbert810 Thanks for the response.

I was really wondering more in regards to fungal problems because of wet grass in warm nighttime conditions. I was under the impression that's the reason for watering early in the morning, so that the blades are completely dry by warm sunless nighttime conditions.

If your watering stops by 1PM you still should have 7-8 hours of sunlight this time of year. That is plenty to not have to worry about the lawn being damp when sunset comes around